Polls open in New Zealand general election

On Saturday, polls opened in New Zealand's general election, with Prime Minister Chris Hipkins seeking a third term for his centre-left Labour party. The Prime Minister took over as leader in January after his charismatic predecessor Jacinda Ardern stepped down. His Labour party faces the conservative National Party.
New Zealand has strict election-day laws governing media reporting and political campaigning to prevent voters being swayed. The laws do not allow exit polls, so the electorate will have no gauge of how the vote is going until early results are released after polling stations close. About 3.5 million people have registered to vote, according to the Electoral Commission, with in the region of 1.2 million people having cast their ballots early.