WELLINGTON, Jan 21, 2026 (BSS/AFP) - New Zealand's Prime Minister Christopher Luxon called general elections for November 7 on Wednesday, touting his government's record on the economy and crime. Luxon said the election date, which lands a month after the All Blacks play at home against Australia, was swayed in part by the sports-mad country's fixtures. "When we took office the country was going in the wrong direction, and it's taken a lot of hard work in the last two years to start turning things around," the prime minister told reporters. The prime minister said inflation had dropped from seven percent under the previous government to less than three percent. The New Zealand leader commended his government's efforts to combat crime.

Source: Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha January 21, 2026 07:06 UTC