With polls closed and election night parties underway, results coming in on the country's Electoral Commission's website indicate that Key's ruling center-right National Party has gained the most votes, 48 percent, well ahead of its closest rival the center-left Labour Party on 25 percent, with 99 percent of votes counted.

"I have called on John Key and I have congratulated him and I have acknowledged that he will continue to be the prime minister of New Zealand at this time, and I am calling on all of you that it its time to put aside political differences and work together for this country," Labour leader David Cunliffe told a gathering of party supporters in Auckland.

Preliminary results showed Key (pictured above) has several options for coalition partners and possibly enough support to govern alone. That would be a first under New Zealand's proportional voting system, which was introduced in 1996. Typically, parties need at least one coalition partner to form a government.

The Green Party received 10 percent of the vote, a slight decline from the last elections in 2011, while the New Zealand First party, a possible coalition partner for National, gained 9 percent, slightly more than last election.

To enter parliament, parties need at least five-percent of the party vote, or to have at least one of their candidates win an electorate seat.

The party funded by German-born Internet entrepreneur Kim Dotcom, the Internet Mana party, gained only 1.3 percent of the vote, not enough to get into parliament as they also failed to win in an electorate.

se/kms (Reuters, AP, AFP)