22 Sep 2017

Where to watch, what to watch for

3:36 pm on 22 September 2017

For the last seven weeks, our top political journalists and a group of reporters around the country have been covering one of the most exciting election campaigns in recent history. They will also be bringing coverage on the night from as far north as the Bay of Islands, right down to the deep south.

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Photo: RNZ

Join John Campbell and Guyon Espiner along with Jane Patterson and Mihingarangi Forbes for the Election17 results as they come in. Whether you want to listen, watch or read, we have you covered.

You can find us on television from 7pm - Freeview Channel 50 and Face TV on Sky Channel 83. Or you can watch on our website, rnz.co.nz, on Facebook or on YouTube.

And, of course, you will still be able to hear us on RNZ National - 101.3 or 101.7 FM.

If you can't listen or watch, then follow our live blog on rnz.co.nz.

The highlights of the election so far - from the Labour leadership change that propelled the party back into touching distance of government, to the final day of campaigning - are on our Election17 page.

We've covered Metiria Turei's admission of benefit fraud and her subsequent resignation. Less than a fortnight later, United Future leader Peter Dunne was out, too.

Colin James' Poll of Polls has seen Labour sharply climb, before dropping off again in the final week of the campaign, with the election result still too close for anyone to call it.

We got out beyond the Beehive, fact-checked the politicians, and tried to get the party leaders to reveal their best jokes.

Now what?

First of all, vote! If you haven't enrolled you can still enrol and vote in advance today. Find your nearest advance polling station here.

From tomorrow, only those who are already enrolled can vote - you don't need to take anything with you to vote, just show up.

Then, tomorrow night, John Campbell will host our election night programme from our studio in Auckland, while Guyon Espiner will be across town at the state of the art, multi-camera television set-up at the University of Auckland, where he'll be unpicking the results with a panel of experts.

They'll include former New Zealand First cabinet minister and National MP Tau Henare, former Labour cabinet minister Clayton Cosgrove, former Greens leader Russel Norman, Victoria University political scientist Dr Maria Bargh, UMR executive director Stephen Mills, National Party advisor Brigitte Morten, and political scientist and columnist Dr Bryce Edwards.

Advance votes - which are likely to top 1 million - are due to be counted before 8.30pm, while all votes should be counted by 11.30pm - after which the coalition wranglings will begin.

While the party vote is the one that counts, several minor parties' political futures are riding on winning an electorate seat - here are the seats to watch.

On Sunday, Wallace Chapman and Megan Whelan will host a Sunday Morning election special on RNZ National from 7am, followed by Susie Ferguson and Kathryn Ryan with a News Special from 8am to 10am from our Wellington studio.

We'll live blog that too, of course, and cover every other angle, all on rnz.co.nz.