Voting closes in New Zealand's election, with polls indicating people favor a conservative change

AUCKLAND, New Zealand (AP) — Voting closed Saturday in New Zealand and ballot counting was underway in a general election, with opinion polls indicating people were favoring a conservative change after six years of a liberal government led for most of that time by Jacinda Ardern.

Warm spring weather in the largest city of Auckland seemed to encourage voters, with queues forming outside some polling places. Early voting before Election Day was lower than in recent elections.

Ardern unexpectedly stepped down as prime minister in January, saying she no longer had “enough in the tank” to do the job justice. She won the last election in a landslide, but her popularity waned as people got tired of COVID-19 restrictions and inflation threatened the economy.

Her departure left Chris Hipkins, 45, to take over as leader. He had previously served as education minister and led the response to the coronavirus pandemic. But polling indicated his conservative rival, former businessman Christopher Luxon, was poised to become the nation’s next prime minister.