New Zealanders began voting Thursday, March 3, 2016 on whether to change their flag from a design which features the British Union Jack to one which features a native silver fern.
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Voting in the second binding referendum on the flag closes at 7pm on Thursday and it’s expected a preliminary result will be known by about 8.30pm.
Preliminary results will be released about 90 minutes later and polling has consistently indicated about two-thirds of the electorate support the status quo.
New Zealand will find out whether its national flag will change for the first time in 114 years.
“When New Zealanders said they wanted a straight yes/no vote in the first referendum, he failed to listen”.
“I’m obviously hopeful there will be changes”, said Key, who was wearing a lapel pin of the new design.
But after an 18-month process costing NZ$26 million (RM70.238 million) it appears New Zealanders are overwhelmingly against change.
If the alternative flag wins, the design will gradually be rolled out across the country, probably making a debut at the Olympic Games in August.
Those advocating change argued the flag was a relic of the nation’s colonial past and too similar to Australia’s flag.
March 2014: John Key announces plans to hold a referendum on the flag if National wins the 2014 election. The issue also become mired in political controversy, with many seeing it as Key’s pet project.
The conservative leader’s popularity ratings remain stubbornly high, even after eight years in power, and political opponents have seized on the chance to deal him a rare electoral defeat. The centre-left Labour Party, normally a reformist organisation, has condemned the entire debate as Key’s “hugely expensive and highly unpopular vanity project”.
It was up against a new design which was chosen from more than 10,000 entries submitted by the public.
One of the quirkier suggestions featured a native kiwi bird with laser beams shooting from its eyes, which were highlighted with glee by worldwide media and USA comedian John Oliver.
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Supporters of the prime minister, who openly supported the change, have described campaigners for the current flag as “immature” and politically motivated.
