The ruling alliance secured a slim majority in New Zealand's general elections, although the final outcome hinges on special votes to be counted, local media reported on Sunday.

The ruling National-led coalition secured 67 of the 131 seats, gaining a narrow majority to continue governing the country for a second consecutive term, local English daily NZ Herald reported. The opposition bloc comprising the Labour Party, the Green Party, and the Maori Party won 57 seats.

Although the ruling coalition appears to be on course to form the government for a second three-year term, special votes, which favor the left, are yet to be counted. A party or coalition needs at least 66 seats to secure a parliamentary majority.

The outcome could still change when 700,000 special votes are counted. These include ballots cast by overseas voters and people voting outside their electorates and are not included in the preliminary results.

The Election Commission is scheduled to release the final official results, including special votes, on Nov. 27.

The contest between the National and the Labour parties remained exceptionally tight, with each securing over 29% of votes.

The commission's tally of all voting places resulted in 11 "overhang" seats, increasing the total number of parliamentary seats from 120 to 131.

Addressing supporters in Auckland, former Prime Minister and National Party leader Christophe Luxon said the election was "too close to call," with the final outcome hinging on special votes to be counted. He said "negotiations and compromise" would be needed to form the next government. New Zealand has nearly 3.8 million enrolled voters.

The country uses the mixed-member proportional voting system to elect its parliament. Under this system, voters cast two ballots, one for a political party and another for their local electorate candidate, which usually results in the formation of a government by two or more parliamentary political parties.