WELLINGTON (AFP) -- National Party leader John Key appeared set for victory in New Zealand's election on Saturday after polls predicted Prime Minister Helen Clark would be swept from power following nine years of rule.

Figures showed the relatively inexperienced Key, who entered parliament in 2002 after amassing a fortune as an investment banker, was on the brink of achieving his boyhood ambition of becoming prime minister.
However, Key, who was flying around New Zealand in a frenzied last day of campaigning Friday, could fall short of the 50 percent needed for the center-right National to form a government on its own, the polls indicated.
But with the help of two tiny conservative parties, he would be able to win a majority in the parliament of around 120 seats if voting follows the polls.
Since New Zealand's complex proportional voting system was introduced in 1996, no single party has been able to form a government without the help of minor parties.
A Fairfax Media survey released Friday put National on 49 percent support and Clark's center-left Labour on 31 percent.
A Herald-DigiPoll survey also released Friday showed the gap was narrower with National on 47.9 percent and Labour on 36.4 percent.
Despite the difference in numbers between the two polls, both would give the same overall result.
The election outcome indicated by two polls released by television networks late Thursday also suggested National could form a government with the help of the ACT and United Future parties, which are predicted to win around four seats between them.
Key, who has led the centre-right National since 2006, said Friday the poll results were ""fantastic"", but added he was not taking the verdict of New Zealand's 2.9 million voters for granted.
""Polls are one thing, election night results can be a very different thing,"" he said.
Clark was refusing to accept the polls could mean the curtain coming down on her nine years at the top.
""That's what most of them said last time, there's nothing new about that,"" she said.
At the last election, Labour won 49 seats, only one more than National, and formed a government with the support of three minor parties.
Clark was spending her last day of campaigning in Auckland, trying to ensure a high turnout in left-leaning areas of the city.