Winston Peters mum on coalition, but voters make preferences clear

Winston Peters' voters wanted change and now they are demanding it on Mr Peters' own Facebook page.

Hundreds of posts from people who voted for New Zealand First are imploring Mr Peters' to ally himself with Labour and the Greens to form a new coalition Government.

"I voted NZ FIRST for change. Please do right by all the kiwis that don't have a voice and my vote won't be wasted," one person wrote.

"54 percent of voters voted for change! Be the change Winston!" another wrote.

"I would love to see you choose Labour. I think National will steamroll you somehow otherwise. Keep it kiwi and choose labour please," another asked.

Mr Peters hasn't yet made up his mind about which party he wants to go with and has asked for several days to think it over.

But the choice seems clear to his Facebook supporters.

"National backstabbed you and you know it. National is too cocky and proud to admit their own failures. What a great opportunity for a change of good government," one wrote.

"Go with Labour, please Winston. You know Bill will promise the earth and then deliver nothing. NZ wants and needs change!" another said.

A Newshub-Reid Research poll conducted before the election found the majority of NZ First voters preferred for Mr Peters to side with National - a far cry from the Facebook comments.

National's Bill English has already reached out to Mr Peters' team to try and organise a phone call between the two, while Labour's Jacinda Ardern says she's letting Mr Peters have the space he asked for.

NZ First has nine seats.

National needs its help if it's to form a majority, as it only has 58 seats. Its usual coalition partner, ACT, only has one seat and its leader David Seymour has already ruled himself out if NZ First comes into the partnership.

Labour and the Greens combined are still trailing National on 52 seats, also needing NZ First to form a slim 61-seat majority.

It's likely the seat numbers will change slightly as the special votes are counted, which historically have favoured the left.

Mr Peters has been the kingmaker twice in his long and storied political career, leaning both to the right and left.

In 1996 he helped a National-led Government over the line in return for the role of Deputy Prime Minister, while in 2005 he joined a Labour-led coalition under Helen Clark, becoming Foreign Minister.

Newshub.