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The country's election commission on Tuesday announced the result of the first part of a two-phase national referendum, the report says.

The winning design was chosen from five candidate designs that were narrowed down from more than 10,000 entries.

It was created by an Australia-based designer and features red stars in a Southern Cross formation, and a silver fern against a black and blue background. The silver fern design is also used for uniforms worn by the All Blacks rugby team.

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The first round of the referendum began on November 20 and closed on Friday.

The election commission says voter turnout was about 1.5 million people, or 48% of registered voters.

People will decide in the second part of the referendum next March whether the winning design should become their new national flag.