WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said Wednesday that he survived a leadership vote among his own party’s lawmakers less than three months before an election.
The vote, during a hastily convened meeting of Luxon’s center-right National Party lawmakers, was held privately. Luxon emerged afterward, however, to tell reporters he had the support of his caucus.
He didn’t say how many had voted for him to continue in the job, although such ballots are usually a secret.
The vote among his lawmakers was significant because it was the second Luxon had called about his own leadership since April and because it happened less than three months before New Zealand’s next national election, which is scheduled for Nov. 7.
National has led a right-wing coalition government since New Zealand’s 2023 election. Luxon, a former airline executive who entered Parliament in 2000, had led the party since 2021.
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