New Zealand re-elected Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern for a second term in office. Prime Minister Ardens’s Labour Party won a landslide victory in the general election, by securing 49 per cent of the vote in comparison to the 27 per cent bagged by its primary challenger, the conservative National Party.

Addressing supporters in Auckland, the newly re-elected Prime Minister said in her victory speech, “This has not been an ordinary election, and it’s not an ordinary time. It’s been full of uncertainty and anxiety, and we set out to be an antidote to that.”

Ardern further said that, “We are living in an increasingly polarized world, a place where, more and more, people have lost the ability to see one another’s point of view. I think in this election, New Zealanders have shown that this is not who we are.”

Jacinda Ardern was voted to the top in 2017 and has won praises for her handling of the Covid-19 pandemic. Last year, Ardern received worldwide praise for her response to the Christchurch attacks, which she labelled as an act of terrorism. She wore a hijab as she met the Muslim community the next day, telling them the country was “united in grief”. Her empathetic approach to issues and connection with the people is definitely one of the reasons for her party’s landsliding electoral victory.