Conservative former businessman Christopher Luxon will be New Zealand害羞草研究所檚 next prime minister after winning a decisive election victory Saturday.

People voted for change after six years of a liberal government led for most of that time by Jacinda Ardern.

The exact makeup of Luxon害羞草研究所檚 government is still to be determined as ballots continued to be counted.

Luxon arrived to rapturous applause at an event in Auckland. He was joined on stage by his wife, Amanda, and their children, William and Olivia. He said he was humbled by the victory and couldn害羞草研究所檛 wait to start his new job. He thanked people from across the country.

害羞草研究所淵ou have reached for hope and you have voted for change,害羞草研究所� he said.

Supporters chanted his campaign slogan, which promised to get the country 害羞草研究所渂ack on track.害羞草研究所�

Outgoing Prime Minister Chris Hipkins, who spent just nine months in the top job after taking over from Ardern in January, told supporters late Saturday he had called Luxon to concede.

Hipkins said it wasn害羞草研究所檛 the result he wanted.

害羞草研究所淏ut I want you to be proud of what we achieved over the last six years,害羞草研究所� he told supporters at an event in Wellington.

Ardern unexpectedly as prime minister in January, saying she no longer had 害羞草研究所渆nough in the tank害羞草研究所� to do the job justice. She won the last election in a , but her popularity waned as people got tired of COVID-19 restrictions and inflation threatened the economy.

READ ALSO:

Her departure left Hipkins, 45, to take over as leader. He had previously served as education minister and led the response to the coronavirus pandemic.

With all the regular votes counted, Luxon害羞草研究所檚 National Party had 39% of the vote. Under New Zealand害羞草研究所檚 proportional voting system, Luxon, 53, plans to form an alliance with the libertarian ACT Party.

Meanwhile, the Labour Party that Hipkins leads got just 27% of the vote 害羞草研究所� a little over half the proportion it got in the last election under Ardern.

There are still thousands of special votes to be tallied, which account for about 20% of the total.

Among the incumbent politicians to lose their seats was Nanaia Mahuta, the foreign minister.

And National and Labour remained in a tight race that was too close to call for Ardern害羞草研究所檚 old electorate seat, Mount Albert. The seat has long been a Labour stronghold and was also held by another former Labour prime minister, Helen Clark.

The National Party candidate for the seat, Melissa Lee, told The Associated Press she was feeling excited but also nervous about the final result in Mount Albert.

害羞草研究所淚t害羞草研究所檚 been Labour since 1946. It has been the biggest, safest Labour seat forever,害羞草研究所� she said. 害羞草研究所淚t would be fantastic if we won it.害羞草研究所�

Lee said that when she was door-knocking, people had told her they were tired of the current government and were concerned with the state of the economy and the spiraling cost of living.

David Farrar, a longtime conservative pollster, said there was a good chance that Labour would end up holding the seat once all the votes were counted. However, he said, his initial impression of voting throughout the country was that it was turning out to be a 害羞草研究所渂loodbath害羞草研究所� for the left.

Luxon has promised tax cuts for middle-income earners and a crackdown on crime. Hipkins had promised free dental care for people younger than 30 and the removal of sales taxes on fruit and vegetables.

Also at stake in the election was the government害羞草研究所檚 relationship with Indigenous M膩ori. Luxon has promised to axe the M膩ori Health Authority, which he says creates two separate health systems. Hipkins says he害羞草研究所檚 proud of such co-governance efforts and has accused Luxon of condoning racism.

Within days of taking the reins in January, Hipkins found himself after deadly floods and then a cyclone hit New Zealand. He quickly jettisoned some of Ardern害羞草研究所檚 more contentious policies and promised a 害羞草研究所渂ack to basics害羞草研究所� approach focused on tackling the spiraling cost of living.

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

During a six-week election campaign, both Hipkins and Luxon traveled the country and hammed it up for the cameras.

Earlier in the week, Luxon, who served as chief executive of both Unilever Canada and Air New Zealand, told an energized crowd in Wellington that he would crack down on gangs.

害羞草研究所淚害羞草研究所檝e gotta tell you, crime is out of control in this country,害羞草研究所� Luxon said. 害羞草研究所淎nd we are going to restore law and order, and we are going to restore personal responsibility.害羞草研究所�

Luxon also got cheers when he promised to fix the capital害羞草研究所檚 gridlocked traffic with a new tunnel project.

Luxon is relatively new to politics but held his own against the more experienced Hipkins during televised debates, according to political observers. But Luxon also made some gaffes, such as when he was asked in a 1News debate how much he spent each week on food.

His answer of 害羞草研究所渁bout sixty bucks害羞草研究所� ($36) was ridiculed on social media as showing he was out of touch with the cost of living.