New Zealand ruling party gears up for general election

Wellington, July 31 (IANS) New Zealand's ruling Labour Party on Monday unveiled its party list which gears up for the general election on October 14.

The new list shows the Labour Party is strengthening its existing team and focusing on the bread-and-butter issues that matter most to New Zealanders, said the party's president Jill Day.

"This election is about who best has New Zealanders' backs in tough times," Xinhua news agency quoted Day as saying in a statement of the Labour Party, citing opportunities ahead such as the decreasing rate of inflation and the record low unemployment.

Labour's plan is to cut inflation, bring down the cost of living, keep people and communities safe, and invest in education, health, and housing, she said.

The general election will determine the composition of the 54th Parliament of New Zealand after the currently elected 53rd Parliament is dissolved or expires. 

Voters will elect 120 members to the unicameral New Zealand House of Representatives under the mixed-member proportional (MMP) voting system, a proportional representation system in which 72 members will be elected from single-member electorates and 48 members from closed party lists.

At the 2020 election, the Labour Party, led by former Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, won an outright majority in the House, the first time under MMP that a party has been able to form a government without needing the support of another party.