New Zealand's conservative National Party appeared headed for victory in Saturday's general election. Although the main opposition Labour Party faced a loss of at least nine members of parliament, two minor parties - the Greens and the nationalist New Zealand First - made substantial gains to check the swing to the right, according to a report of the German Press Agency "DPA". With 91 per cent of the votes counted, the National Party had 48 per cent of the total, giving them a projected 60 seats in the parliament, which currently has 121 members. With 27 per cent of the vote, Labour was predicted to have gained 33 seats. The Greens, with 11 per cent, were poised to gain four seats to raise their total to 13.
