concede defeat and congratulate her on an "outstanding result" for the Labour Party.
Final results will be released in three weeks once special votes -- including those cast by New Zealanders living overseas -- are counted. Those results could affect the final allocation of seats in parliament.
The preliminary count also shows a major swing to the left, with Labour picking up a significant boost on last election's 37%, while its current coalition partner the Green Party won 8% -- or 10 seats -- up on last election's 6%.
