PM Modi congratulates New Zealand's Jacinda Ardern on historic election victory

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday congratulated his New Zealand counterpart Jacinda Ardern for securing a second term in office. PM Modi said he looked forward to working together for taking the bilateral relationship to a higher level.

“My heartiest congratulations to the PM of New Zealand @jacindaardern on her resounding victory. Recall our last meet a year ago and look forward to working together for taking India-NZ relationship to a higher level,” PM Modi said on Twitter.

“My heartiest congratulations to the PM of New Zealand @jacindaardern on her resounding victory. Recall our last meet a year ago and look forward to working together for taking India-NZ relationship to a higher level,” PM Modi said on Twitter.

Ardern won a second term in office on Saturday in an election landslide of historic proportions.

Ardern’s liberal Labour Party got 49 per cent of the vote, crushing the conservative National Party, which got 27 per cent. Ardern said the margin of the victory



exceeded their expectations.

The Labour Party will now get an outright majority in Parliament, the first time any party has achieved that since New Zealand implemented a proportional voting system 24 years ago. Typically parties have formed alliances to govern but this time Labour can go it alone.

A day after winning the second term, Ardern said on Sunday that she sees the election result as an endorsement of her government’s efforts to stamp out the coronavirus and reboot the economy.

Speaking at a cafe near her Auckland home, Ardern said she expects to form a new government within three weeks and to prioritise work on the virus response.

“We’re cracking on very quickly with the work we need to do as a new team,” Ardern said.

Ardern’s popularity soared earlier this year after she led a successful effort to halt the spread of the virus by implementing a strict lockdown in late March. New Zealand has had fewer than 2,000 cases of the virus including 25 deaths.