Flags are curious things. In one sense, they are nothing more than scraps of rectangular cloth emblazoned with colorful designs. But flags are also the foremost symbol by which the merry band of nations that inhabits this planet distinguish themselves from one another. As symbolic representatives of entire peoples, they can evoke within a reasonable observer almost any range of emotions, from mystical reverence to intense revulsion.
Part of that power comes from their permanence: Flags, once chosen, rarely change. But New Zealanders took their first step to revise their national banner on Friday, when the country finished the first vote in its two-stage referendum.
A government panel selected five designs in September from over 10,000 entries to find a possible replacement for their current flag. Voters mailed in ballots between November 20 and December 11 to choose a finalist among them. The winning result: a black-and-blue design that prominently features the silver fern, a national symbol.
Flag referendum: Black and blue silver fern design wins the first public vote https://t.co/YKVAEPHdVi pic.twitter.com/j2F3VPDZCj
— Stuff.co.nz News (@NZStuff) December 11, 2015
Kyle Lockwood, an architectural technologist from New Zealand who now lives in Australia, submitted both the winning design and its runner-up. His second version, which uses a red-and-blue motif, took the first lead during the vote count. But as other designs were eliminated and their votes went to second- and third-place preferences, the black-and-blue design leapt ahead to a razor-thin victory with 50.53 percent of the vote. A final result will be announced on Tuesday.