NZ's Clark to seek coalition

Clark hopes to be the first woman to win a second term as prime minister in NZ

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (CNN) -- New Zealand's Prime Minister Helen Clark will again be forced to seek coalition partners to form government following Saturday's national poll.

Clark's Labour Party has fallen short of winning an outright majority of seats in New Zealand's 120-member single-house parliament which sits in the Beehive building in the nation's capital Wellington.

The NZ Labour Party gained 41 percent of the vote -- enough to give it 52 seats and for National leader Bill English to concede defeat.

This is a slight increase on the 49 seats it previously held.

The next best effort was by the National Party which won 21 percent of the vote (27 seats), then the nationalist New Zealand First party with 11 percent (13 seats), the economic right wing party ACT with 7 percent (9 seats), United Future NZ with 7 percent (9 seats) and the Greens with 6 percent (8 seats).

At this stage the most likely scenario will be Labour forming government with assistance of the Greens, the Progressive Coalition Party, which won 2 seats, and possibly the United Future party.

Voter turnout Saturday was high with fine weather in the major city of Auckland, home to more than 1 million of New Zealand's 4 million residents, but cold and wet conditions in Wellington.

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Voting is not compulsory in New Zealand, but typically between 80 and 90 percent of the 2.65 million registered voters do their electoral duty.

Clark called the election early in a bid to capitalize on weakness in the main opposition party, the Nationals, but it now appears the gamble has not delivered the unencumbered mandate she was hoping for.

Under New Zealand's Mixed Member Proportional voting system -- first used in 1996 -- it is difficult for one party to control the treasury benches without forming a coalition with other parties.

But if Clark is able to cobble together a workable Coalition government, she will be the first female prime minister in New Zealand history to win a second term.

Genetically modified foods

Previous prime minister, the National Party's Jenny Shipley, was defeated by Clark in 1999 after just one term at the helm of this south Pacific nation.

The most likely coalition partner for Clark's left-leaning Labour Party will be the Greens party, despite the two parties falling out in recent months over the issue of genetically modified foods.

The Greens are vehemently opposed to allowing the development of GM foods, while Clark's government has allowed some restricted development of the contentious science.

Under the MMP system, any party which garners more than 5 percent of the party vote wins a proportional representation in New Zealand's parliament.

Clark's Labour Party has edged closer to a centrist position in a bid to capitalize on National's woes and distance itself from the more extreme elements of the left.

But Clark has maintained Labor's electorally popular left-wing stance on issues such as its anti-nuclear policy and downgraded defense priorities.

While New Zealand did commit elite troops to the U.S.-led action in Afghanistan, the government earlier this week ruled out providing any support for any similar action against Iraq.