Labour gives up fight for Waitakere, Christchurch Central

Labour has decided not to continue battling for the tightly-contested Waitakere and Christchurch Central seats.

National's Paula Bennett led the race for the Waitakere seat by 349 votes on election night, but lost it to Carmel Sepuloni after special votes gave the Labour candidate an 11-vote advantage.

Ms Bennett reclaimed the seat after she requested a judicial recount, which gave her a margin of nine votes.

In the Christchurch Central electorate, National's Nicky Wagner and Labour's Brendan Burns were tied for votes on election night, but Ms Wagner came out on top when the special vote count gave her lead of 45. She extended her lead by two votes in a recount.

Labour president Moira Coatsworth today confirmed that the party accepted the results and would not be seeking an electoral petition.