Campaigning for the Mt Roskill by-election is into its final day.
Labour's Michael Wood and National's Parmjeet Parmar are front-runners for the seat left vacant when Phil Goff won the Auckland mayoralty.
National picks Parmjeet Parmar as Mt Roskill by election candidate Photo: RNZ / YouTube
Mr Goff won the seat with an 8000-vote majority at the last election, but National won the party vote.
Mr Wood thinks it will be a closer result this time.
"By-elections can be pretty low turnout, so we've just been on the ground as much as possible, at the school gate meeting people, visiting people at the local shops, lots of door knocking," he said.
Dr Parmar said she had been working hard throughout the campaign, but acknowledged history would be against her - no incumbent government had won a seat they didn't already hold at a by-election.
"This has been a Labour seat, but I have to say Labour has taken this seat for granted, so that's why this is a great opportunity for Mt Roskill to give this opportunity to a National MP."
Prime Minister John Key has also downplayed National's chances.
"We're going in very much as the underdog. It doesn't mean we can't win and if we did, I think it would be the end of Andrew Little," he said.
"But the point would be that I just think it's a big challenge for us to win in Mt Roskill."
Close to 3500 advance votes have already been cast in the by-election.
Polling booths will be open until 7pm on Saturday.
The Electoral Commission said it hopes to have the final results available by 10pm.
