Green party co-leader Jeanette Fitzsimons has just told Radio New Zealand that she expects to win the seat of Coromandel in a result expected around 7pm tonight.

Ms Fitzsimons needed to claw back a 114 majority to National MP Murray McLean on election night from special votes.

If she wins the seat the Greens will have six MPs in the house.

Talking to Radio New Zealand’s Checkpoint show shortly after 5pm Ms Fitzsimons said reports from her scrutineers at the count had her ahead.

Ms Fitzsimons said she had also had encouraging reports concerning the Party Vote and the Green’s might breach the 5% threshold afterall, in which case Coromandel will no longer be critical to the Greens taking a place in Parliament.

Ms Fitzsimons said she thought she had done well among voters who had not been intending to vote - but who had enrolled at the last minute because they wanted to vote Green.

If the Green's make it on specials the Labour/Alliance majority of six turns into a majority of 0. The Greens have undertaken to support the coalition on supply and confidence.

Both Labour and the Alliance leaders have said in recent days that they did not expect the Greens to make it.

(continuing…)

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Alastair Thompson

Scoop Publisher

Alastair Thompson is the co-founder of Scoop. He is of Scottish and Irish extraction and from Wellington, New Zealand. Alastair has 24 years experience in the media, at the Dominion, National Business Review, North & South magazine, Straight Furrow newspaper and online since 1997. He is the winner of several journalism awards for business and investigative work.

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