He insisted that New Zealand’s flag design was excessively dominated by the Union Jack and was too similar to Australia’s.
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An initial referendum was held in November 2015 to choose between five short-listed alternatives to the current flag.
The initial count of the postal referendum showed 1.2 million voters, or 56.6% of the 2.12 million who took part, opted to keep the existing flag, which includes the British Union Jack in the top left-hand corner and four stars of the Southern Cross constellation.
“We have run a robust, democratic process that has allowed us to discuss who we are and how we want to be represented on the world stage”.
Final results will be released by the Electoral Commission on March 30.
The quest to find a new flag began with the country crowd-sourcing new designs.
As a reminder, here’s a taste of the flags New Zealand could have had – including the front-runners and some very, very long shots.
While Prime Minister Key isn’t thrilled about the results, he said he’ll back the people’s decision and asked others to do the same.
In New Zealand, the fern is of huge symbolic importance in the native Maori culture and is also a motif associated with the country’s famous rugby team.
A recent poll had found that two-thirds of New Zealanders wanted to keep the existing flag. Others were put off by the cost: 26 million New Zealand dollars ($17 million).
But Mr Little said the flag debate will no doubt be revisited in the future, probably in tandem with a broader discussion around whether New Zealand should become a republic.
Mr Key said he was disappointed but would support the current flag.
Deputy Prime Minister Bill English, who was in charge of the process, said it had resulted in a “good debate around patriotism”.
But the public appeared to show little excitement about the proposed change and many voters claimed the alternative flag was ugly and resembled a “beach towel” .
“I think the whole process has been flawed from the start”.
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Melbourne-based Lockwood’s Silver Fern design – with a leafy frond on a split background of blue and black – was announced as the victor in December.
