新西兰各政党领导人周四向选民发出最后呼吁。三天后就是大选，民调显示选情胶着、难分胜负，而民众对疲软经济的不满情绪仍在加剧。
New Zealand's party leaders made final appeals to voters on Thursday, three days before a general election that polls show is too close to call as discontent around an ailing economy continues to swell.
总理克里斯托弗·卢克森在霍克湾拉票时对记者表示，选举很可能会战至最后一刻。
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon told reporters while campaigning in Hawke's Bay that the election would likely go down to the wire.
他告诉记者：“信息很简单——选情将非常紧张和胶着。我们希望鼓励所有人出来投票，把政党票投给国家党。”他敦促选民再给国家党三年时间，“完成这项工作”。
"The message is pretty simple -- it's going to be tight and close," he told reporters, "we want to encourage everybody to get out and party vote National," urging voters to give National another three years to "complete the job".
本周公布的民调显示，两大政党阵营均未获得明显多数，中间派机会党被视为潜在的“造王者”。政治评论人士预计，由于选民对两大党的信心下降，小党支持率上升，新西兰可能需要数周时间才能组建政府。
Polls released this week showed no clear majority for either bloc of parties, with the centrist Opportunity Party positioned as a potential kingmaker. Political commentators expect it could take weeks for New Zealand to form a government with support growing for smaller parties as voters lose confidence in the two largest ones.
反对党领袖克里斯·希普金斯表示，工党希望在圣诞节前组建一个由工党领导的政府。
Opposition leader Chris Hipkins said Labour hoped to form a Labour-led government before Christmas.
他说：“确保政府更迭的最佳方式——大多数新西兰人都在向我们表示他们希望政府更迭——就是把你的政党票投给工党，让我们成为最大政党。”
"The best way to ensure there is a change in government, and most New Zealanders are indicating to us they want a change in government, is to give your party vote to Labour so we are the biggest party," he said.
选举委员会的数据显示，提前投票于10月26日开始，截至周二，已投出1,250,057张选票，而2023年同期为1,007,928张。
Early voting began on October 26 and, by Tuesday, 1,250,057 votes had been cast, compared with 1,007,928 at the same point in 2023, according to Electoral Commission data.
此次大选在很大程度上是对政府经济治理的评判。通胀已从此前的峰值回落，但汽油价格和其他日常开销再次给家庭带来压力。
The election is largely a verdict on the government's handling of the economy. Inflation has eased from earlier peaks, but petrol and other everyday costs have renewed pressure on households.
益普索本周公布的一项调查发现，通胀和生活成本仍是选民最关心的问题。医疗和医院问题以45%的比例紧随其后；汽油价格和燃料上升到第三位，为31%，领先于经济问题（30%）和失业问题（19%）。
An Ipsos survey published this week found inflation and the cost of living remained voters' biggest concern. Healthcare and hospitals followed at 45%, while petrol prices and fuel rose to third place at 31%, ahead of the economy at 30% and unemployment at 19%.
新西兰从长期低迷中缓慢复苏，增长乏力，家庭预算紧张，第三季度失业率升至5.7%，为11年来最高水平。
New Zealand has emerged only slowly from a prolonged downturn, with growth subdued, household budgets strained and unemployment rising to 5.7% in the third quarter, its highest level in 11 years.
“这次选举很大程度上关乎经济，主要是生活成本，”惠灵顿维多利亚大学高级政治学讲师莫娜·克鲁威尔说。“这是唯一能团结所有选民的问题。无论人们年轻还是年长，这实际上是他们聚在一起的地方。”她说，工党在生活成本问题上开展了强势竞选活动，而国家党及其他中右翼政党则更广泛地关注经济。
"This was very much an election about the economy, so mostly cost of living," said Mona Krewel, a senior political science lecturer at Victoria University of Wellington. "This is the one issue that unites all voters. No matter if people are young or old, it's actually where they come together." She said Labour had run a strong campaign on the cost of living, while National and other centre-right parties had focused more broadly on the economy.
克鲁威尔表示，ACT党和新西兰第一党试图将移民提升为竞选议题，但难以撼动人们对经济的担忧。
Krewel said ACT and New Zealand First had sought to elevate immigration as a campaign issue but had struggled to dislodge economic concerns.