New Zealand confirms alternative flag

New Zealand has confirmed its preferred alternative flag after the first referendum resulted in a tight race between two ferns.

Silver Fern (Black, White and Blue) was confirmed as the official preferred alternative on Tuesday following the counting of late votes, with a margin of 1.16 per cent over the runner-up Silver Fern (Red, White and Blue). New Zealanders will choose between the winner and the current flag in a second postal referendum next March.

Melbourne-based New Zealander Kyle Lockwood’s black, white and blue design came out on top in the preliminary results of the first referendum announced on Friday, beating the red version, also designed by him, by a margin of less than 1 per cent.

Prof John Burrowes, the chairman of the government panel overseeing the flag referendum process, said at the time it was "too close to call" between the two designs.

The winning flag received fewer first-preference votes than Red, White and Blue, but ended up with a higher share of the total through preferential voting .

The turn-out in the first referendum was 48.78 per cent of the total number of voters enrolled.

Four shortlisted designs were announced by the Flag Consideration Panel in September. A fifth design, Red Peak by Aaron Dustin, was added to the shortlist following public pressure , but finished third with only 122,152 first-preference votes.

With the preferred alternative confirmed, the question now is whether to replace the current flag.

The result of the final referendum, to be held from the 3rd to the 24th of March, will be binding.the Overwhelming support for Lockwood’s designs in the first referendum does not necessarily equate to support for a change in flag, with polling both before and after the results of the first vote suggesting that most New Zealanders are in favour of maintaining the status quo. – (Guardian service)