Fern emerges as contender for New Zealand's new flag

New Zealand's possible new flag was unveiled Friday - a stylized white fern on a black and blue background with the four red stars of the Southern Cross.

The design was named by the country's Electoral Commission as the favorite in a preliminary result of a referendum to choose an alternative to the current flag, which features as the British Union Jack in the top left corner.

Four of the five options in the referendum were stylizations of the country's native fern, while the fifth, dubbed "Red Peak," was an arrangement of red, blue and black triangles around a white chevron.

The winning result took 50.53 percent of the total votes in a complex progressive ranking system, although another design of a white fern on a red and blue background gained more first-choice votes.

The official result will be announced on Dec. 15 and the official favorite will go head to head with the current flag in a second referendum in March next year.

The winner of that poll will become - or remain - the official New Zealand flag.

The process has been marred by controversy and rancor among the political parties since it was initiated by Prime Minister John Key after last year's general election.

Critics of the present flag, including Key, who has repeatedly stated his preference for a fern design, say it is too similar to the Australian flag and that it is a hangover from the country's colonial past.

The entire project is expected to cost over 25 million NZ dollars (16.93 million U.S. dollars).

Political opponents have described it as a waste of money and a "vanity project" of the Prime Minister, while opponents of the designs have criticized them as no better than marketing logos. Endit