WELLINGTON, Sept. 7 (Xinhua) -- New Zealand's governing National Party has extended its lead over the opposition Labor Party in a new poll released on Monday, as support for both major parties declined and smaller parties gained ground.
National fell 2 percentage points to 29 percent in the September Taxpayers' Union-Curia Poll, while Labor dropped 1.9 points to 25.9 percent, its lowest result since July 2024.
The poll projected National to win 39 seats in parliament, one fewer than in August, while Labor was projected to take 35 seats, also down one. The Greens and ACT recorded the biggest gains among the major parties.
The poll projected the National-led coalition parties -- National, ACT and New Zealand First -- to hold 64 seats, enough to form a government, compared with 56 for the "Opposition Bloc" -- Labor, the Greens, the Maori party and Opportunity combined.
National leader Christopher Luxon remained ahead of Labor leader Chris Hipkins as preferred prime minister, according to the poll, which surveyed 1,000 adults from Sept. 1 to 3 and has a maximum margin of error of 3.1 percentage points. ■
