The polls have closed, the votes are being counted and the future of the nation is in the balance.

Results from the Electoral Commission will appear here after 5000 votes are entered

Before Saturday, 1,376,366 people cast early votes. So already, a lot of people had voted before election day. And then today, some voters found long queues as they tried to vote - with some tech issues impacting polling stations on this last day of voting.

There are 3.5 million people enrolled to votes. There are expected to be 500,000 special votes - they will not be counted today because enrolment details have to be checked.

The country is voting for New Zealand's 54th parliament - currently there are 72 electorates, including 65 general electorates and seven Māori electorates.

Follow all the latest news from Election Night 2023 with RNZ's live blog: