The preliminary results of New Zealand’s $26 million flag referendum will be announced tonight following a public vote to decide between the current flag and an alternative.
The move to change the flag was backed by New Zealand Prime Minister John Key, but polls have indicated the majority of New Zealanders do not support the alternative design.
Voting closes at 7.00pm New Zealand time (5:00pm AEDT), and preliminary results are expected about 8.30pm.
A telephone poll conducted in February showed that only 32 per cent of people wanted to change the flag while 59 per cent wanted to keep the current design and 9 per cent were undecided.
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Lengthy process
The process to change the flag began in May 2015, when New Zealanders were invited to submit flag designs.
An independent panel was appointed to choose four options from the more than 10,000 designs submitted.
However the shortlist of four designs received widespread criticism for containing three designs of a similar appearance, including two by the same designer.
New Zealand Prime Minister John Key said his drive for change was "fundamentally about taking the Union Jack off and putting the silver fern on".
A campaign launched to have a fifth design, named 'Redpeak', added to the shortlist was successful and in November 2015 the public was asked to vote for one of the five designs as an alternative option.
The winning design, by Melbourne-based designer Kyle Lockwood, features a silver fern and a southern cross on a blue and black backdrop.
High-profile supporters of the design include former All Black Richie McCaw, who wrote in a Facebook post that the current design was too similar to the Australian flag.
The alternative flag, by designer Kyle Lockwood, looks unlikely to beat out the current flag. Source: AAP
"The silver fern has always been the special symbol on the All Black jersey that represents who we are as kiwis, so the new flag with a silver fern as a part of it would be a great option I believe," he wrote.
New Zealand Prime Minister John Key said his drive for change was "fundamentally about taking the Union Jack off and putting the silver fern on".
However many have criticised the alternative design as ugly, including New Zealand journalist Steve Braunias, who described it as resembling a "beach towel" in a piece for the New York Times.
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The New Zealand Returned and Services Association (RSA) has also been active in its opposition to a flag change.
In an interview with SBS last year, New Zealand RSA Vice President Bob Hill said the current flag was an important symbol for returned service men and women.
"We don't want to be seen as old fuddie duddies and living in the past but then again, a lot of New Zealanders have died under that flag so we think it's important to keep it," he said.
