New Zealand PM Jacinda Ardern Claims Historic Election Win

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern on Saturday has won a landslide victory in the country's general elections, earning her a second term in the office. The Labor party scored its greatest result in 50 years.

In a rare parliamentary majority, Ardern's centre-left party won 49.1%, bringing a projected 64 seats.

The opposition centre-right National Party won 26.8% in Saturday's poll – just 35 seats in the 120-seat assembly.

"Our plan is already in action and already working, but after this result we have the mandate to accelerate our response and our recovery, and tomorrow we start," Ardern said in her victory speech at Auckland Town Hall.

"Now more than ever is the time to keep going, to keep working, to grab hold of the opportunities that lay in front of us," she added.

Ardern, 40, won the top job in 2017 general elections. The following year, she became only the second world leader to give birth while in office.

Her response to the COVID-19 pandemic was lauded worldwide as the country had fewer than 2,000 cases of the deadly virus including 25 deaths.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated his New Zealand counterpart and said that he is looking forward to working on elevating the bilateral relations between the two countries.