Escaped youth tracked by Eagle helicopter, found hiding in New Brighton
The young person who escaped from a youth justice facility in Rolleston has been located...
7.45PM: Labour is leading in three key Christchurch electorates, including Banks Peninsula, as the first results from the general election begin to reveal how Canterbury voters have cast their ballots.
Early figures released shortly before 7.45pm show Labour’s Tracey McLellan ahead of National’s Vanessa Weenink in Banks Peninsula, a seat National won in 2023.
With 24.4 percent of voting places reporting, McLellan has secured 8,652 votes, compared with Weenink’s 7,199, giving the Labour candidate an early lead of 1,453 votes.
It is one of the most closely watched contests in Canterbury, with Labour attempting to reclaim the electorate after losing it at the previous election.
In Christchurch Central, Labour’s George Hampton has established an early lead over National’s Dale Stephens.
George Hampton
Hampton has received 5,659 votes, compared with Stephens’ 3,784, a margin of 1,875 votes with 18.9 percent reporting.
Green Party candidate Kahu Carter is sitting third with 2,629 votes.
Labour is also showing a strong early performance in Christchurch East, where incumbent MP Reuben Davidson is leading National’s Alexandra Davids by 4,924 votes.
Davidson has secured 10,620 votes, representing 51.2 percent of the candidate vote reported so far, compared with Davids’ 5,696.
Meanwhile, National is maintaining substantial early leads in two of Canterbury’s neighbouring electorates.
In Selwyn, National’s Nicola Grigg has secured 12,714 votes, giving her a commanding lead of 7,806 over Labour’s Sunita Gautam, who has received 4,908 votes.
In Waimakariri, National’s Matt Doocey is also comfortably ahead on the preliminary count, with 9,827 votes compared with Labour candidate Dan Rosewarne’s 5,555.
Both electorates were won by National in 2023.
The results remain preliminary, with only around 19 to 24 percent of voting places reporting across the five electorates at the time of the figures.
While the early numbers suggest Labour could be competitive in Banks Peninsula, no winner has been declared in any of these contests.
Further results are expected throughout the evening as counting continues across Canterbury and the rest of New Zealand.
