General Election

The centrist Blue and White alliance of former military chief Benny Gantz was projected to win 36 or 37 seats, with the Likud party of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on 33 to 36.

Both men have claimed victory.

Two exit polls predicted that right-wing parties allied to Mr Netanyahu were more likely to be able to form a governing coalition.

But a third exit poll predicted that the bloc would be tied with centre-left parties allied to Mr Gantz.

Polls opened at 7am in Solomon Islands for the National General Election.

There are 333 candidates contesting 50 seats in parliament and over 350,000 registered voters.

The Electoral Commission said everything was in place for the ballot but it said voters should make sure they attended the correct polling stations.

Speaking at a news conference on Tuesday night, the police commissioner, Matthew Varley, urged Solomon Islanders to behave responsibly and vote wisely.

Announcing the date this afternoon, Mr English said National will take nothing for granted in its campaign and that the economy was always the central election issue.

The PM was not ruling out working with NZ First after the 2017 election, but said it was "unlikely".

He said his preference was to continue working with current partners - Act, United Future and the Māori Party.

"Together our parties have provided a stable and successful government at a time of great uncertainty in many parts of the world," said Mr English.