Story highlights Preliminary results show National Party ahead of main opposition Labour PartyWithout an outright majority, National would have to form a coalition government(CNN) New Zealand's ruling National Party is set to begin talks to form a new government, CNN affiliate Radio NZ reported, after preliminary results show it leading the main opposition Labour Party in Saturday's general election. National leads Labour 46% to 35.8%, according to a preliminary count released by the country's Electoral Commission . The commission put the populist New Zealand First Party third with 7.5% of the vote and the Green Party fourth with 5.9%. The results could put Prime Minister Bill English's National Party in a position to remain in power for a fourth term despite a strong challenge from Labour -- a party that had led in some polls preceding Saturday's election. Without an outright majority, National would have to form a coalition with another party to remain in power.

Source: CNN September 23, 2017 13:31 UTC