New Zealand election: the final week

The New Zealand election 2026 is in its final stage. Neither of the big parties appears to be enthralling the voters. The Opportunity Party remains steady at about 7% in the polls. What can New Zealand expect in this final week of an election being driven by the minor parties?

This election has been very much driven by the minor parties – A.C.T., New Zealand First and the Greens.

Opportunity rise; Te Pati Maori disappear

And the Opportunity Party. It is on its way to causing a major political earthquake in New Zealand. I think Opportunity, led by Qiulae Wong, are on course to bring 8 M.P.’s to Parliament. Most people will have heard of Ms Wong by now. However, they might not have met or heard of the next seven on the Opportunity list:

• Daniel Eb
• Jessica Hammond
• Kayla Kingdon-Bebb
• Eden Skipper
• Jodie Kuntzsch
• Sarah Lucas
• David Bainbridge-Zafar

Te Pati Maori have been missing in action since their civil war in 2025, where the party ruptured over internal matters. Almost no T.P.M. election signage, pamphlets or candidate events have been noticed in Christchurch. The only T.P.M. person I have seen on television was their representative at the Maori debate a few nights ago.

Big party paralysis; small parties move

There is panic in both the National and Labour camps. It is partially driven by the number of disgruntled moderates that are moving to the Opportunity Party. But, it is not just Opportunity that is causing a panic among settled Labour and National voters. A.C.T., New Zealand First and the Greens are all actively campaigning on significant policies. They lack the paralysis that seems to have paralyzed National and Labour.

Introducing new policies is now meaningless as many voters have cast their ballot. That number is rising by the minute. The thirteenth hour to clarify policies and mistakes that were made earlier in the campaign has arrived.

Green co-leader Chloe Swarbrick suggested that she should be Minister of Finance. This was quickly quashed by Labour leader Chris Hipkins, who said that would be Barbara Edmonds. David Seymour, leader of A.C.T. also floated the idea that he should be given the position – only to downplay it later the same day.

In the New Zealand election 2026, we can be confident of one thing right now. Whatever happens will be a jolt to the Mixed Member Proportional system. I hope it will make the leadership of the big parties stop and think about how and why they are so unpopular. Many people who have switched to Opportunity probably thought long and hard about their reasoning for doing so.

Threats and abuse of candidates

I am concerned about the harassment of candidates. Some of it is high volume messaging and e-mailing telling them what horrible humans they are. Other forms of abuse have included death threats. New Zealand First candidate Billy Brown has reported threats against him and his family. Opportunity leader Qiulae Wong has been attacked online by people criticizing the grounds of her supposed sexual orientation.

No candidate deserves this ever. It does not matter what their past history is, there is nothing acceptable about threatening ones children. Acts like that and writing potentially defamatory posts are worthy of Netsafe’s attention. The death threats need to be reported to the Police.

Final words on New Zealand election 2026

As I did when I started this article, I end this article with another photo. Most candidates I have spoken to have really enjoyed meeting people on the campaign trail. Many have also been involved in fun activities.

My last word goes to Rollickin Gelato, who have 7 flavours based on each of the Parliament parties, plus Opportunity. If you are in Christchurch, try Rollickin Gelato for a nice treat before the New Zealand election on Saturday 07 November 2026.