New Zealand confirms Silver Fern as flag referendum candidate

 

New Zealand has confirmed that the black, white and blue silver fern design won a referendum to become a possible new flag, after the final votes were counted.

The winning design, known officially as Silver Fern (Black, White and Blue), happens to be Prime Minister John Key's pick, and he had earlier expressed delight that it had won in the preliminary tally.

The decision to choose a new flag has been backed by Prime Minister John Key, who has said the current one is too similar to Australia's and that it is time to remove the Union Jack from the current flag

A second referendum will be held in March 2016 to decide whether to adopt the new flag or keep the current one.

A similar design in red and blue came in a close second.

Both flags were designed by architect Kyle Lockwood. About 1.5 million votes were cast in the referendum, with a voter turnout of 49%, said NZ's Election Commission

Note

New Zealanders were asked to choose which of 5 designs they preferred.

The referendum has divided opinion in New Zealand over its cost and timing.

The entire exercise is expected to cost around NZ$27m (£12m, $18m).