NEWSFLASH: It's A Draw!
With 84% of the polling places counted the election result in terms of seats is now an exact draw between the parties of the left and those of the right with 61 seats each, the Maori Party having a two seat overhang.
The gap between National and Labour in the party vote has been falling steadily since 8.30pm from a margin of 30,000 votes to now just 12,000 votes.
However the final result remains decidedly uncertain.
On the one hand South Auckland's big booths have not yet declared their results and these are likely to favour Labour and the Greens.
On the other hand the Progressive vote in particular has been falling and the loss of Matt Robson's seat would change the balance.
Watch the results live at…
http://www.scoop.co.nz/features/election2005.html