In the first general election held under the new mixed-member proportional representation (MMP) voting system, New Zealand voters selected 120 members of Parliament through a mixture of electorate contests and party lists.
Elections
Events In History
14 June 1984
Prime Minister Robert Muldoon surprised many by announcing a ‘snap’ election to be held in exactly one month’s time.
30 November 1949
The Labour government led by Peter Fraser was defeated by Sidney Holland’s National Party after 14 years in office. The result heralded a long period of National dominance, with the party holding power for 29 of the next 35 years.
6 December 1905
For the first time in New Zealand’s electoral history, registered voters who were away from their electorate on polling day were able to cast a ‘special’ absentee vote at any polling booth in the country.
5 December 1890
New Zealand’s electoral law had been changed so that no one could vote in more than one general electoral district. This ended the long-standing practice of ‘plural voting’ by those who owned property in more than one electorate.
19 December 1879
The Qualification of Electors Act extended the right to vote (the franchise) to all European men aged 21 or over, regardless of whether they owned or rented property.
14 July 1853
For such a symbolic moment, the events of 14 July offered little drama – the first member of New Zealand’s inaugural Parliament, Hugh Carleton, was elected unopposed at Russell in the Bay of Islands.
Articles
The House of Representatives
New Zealand's Parliament dates back to 1854, just 14 years after the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi and the beginning of the European settlement of the country. For most of its history as a nation state, New Zealand has had some form of elected government. Read the full article
Page 2 - Quick history
New Zealand's Parliament has been making laws, scrutinising the government and representing New Zealanders for over 150 years.
Women and the vote
On 19 September 1893 the governor, Lord Glasgow, signed a new Electoral Act into law. As a result of this landmark legislation, New Zealand became the first self-governing country in the world in which all women had the right to vote in parliamentary elections. Read the full article
Page 1 - New Zealand women and the vote
On 19 September 1893 the governor, Lord Glasgow, signed a new Electoral Act into law. As a result of this landmark legislation, New Zealand became the first self-governing country
Page 2 - Brief history
A history of the movement that won New Zealand women the vote in
Page 3 - Women's suffrage milestones
Women's suffrage milestones from 1869 to
Page 4 - The National Council of Women
Three years after the vote was won in 1893, a convention of representatives of 11 women's groups from throughout New Zealand resolved itself into the National Council of
Māori and the vote
Between April and June 1868 the first four Māori MPs were elected to New Zealand's Parliament. Despite ongoing debate, the Māori seats remain a distinctive feature of this country's electoral landscape almost 150 years later. Read the full article
Page 2 - Setting up the Māori seats
Early Māori representation in New Zealand
Page 3 - Change in the 20th century
The fall and rise of Māori seats in the 20th
The road to MMP
In 1993 New Zealanders voted to replace their traditional first past the post (FPP) voting system with mixed member proportional representation (MMP). Eighteen years on, as Kiwis voted in a new electoral referendum, we explore how and why that dramatic reform came about. Read the full article
Page 1 - The road to MMP
In 1993 New Zealanders voted to replace their traditional first past the post (FPP) voting system with mixed member proportional representation (MMP). Eighteen years on, as Kiwis
Page 2 - First past the post
From 1853 until 1993 (apart from 1908–13) New Zealand elections were held under the first past the post (FPP) or plurality
Page 3 - The Royal Commission
During the 1981 and 1984 campaigns, Labour promised to set up a Royal Commission to look into a wide range of issues relating to the electoral
Page 4 - Putting it to the vote
Although only 55% of electors took part in a referendum, an overwhelming 85% voted to change their electoral system. In the second part of the poll, 70% favoured mixed member
Page 5 - 1996 and beyond - the road to MMP
The three years following the 1993 referendum, before the first MMP election in 1996, were ones of transition and
Election Days
When New Zealanders go to the polls on 26 November 2011, they will continue a 158-year-old tradition of parliamentary democracy in this country. Politics may have changed beyond recognition since 1853, but the cut and thrust of the campaign trail, the power of advertising, and the drama of polling day remain as relevant as ever. Read the full article
Page 1 - Election Days
When New Zealanders go to the polls on 26 November 2011, they will continue a 158-year-old tradition of parliamentary democracy in this country. Politics may have changed beyond
Page 2 - Early elections
Even though New Zealand's electoral franchise (right to vote) was more generous than Britain's, the colony's early elections were in many ways small-scale replicas of those in the
Page 3 - Cleaning up elections
The New Zealand Parliament was alarmed by reports of electoral abuses in Auckland in the 1850s. It decided that electoral laws needed to be tightened, and in 1858 passed a series
Page 4 - Nights on the town
After the colour and controversy of the 1850s, election days in New Zealand have generally been orderly affairs. Even so, election nights could still be lively
Page 5 - Peddling politicians
Given the printing technology of the time, early election posters and hoardings were inevitably simple.
Page 6 - Radio and TV
Electoral advertising was transformed first by radio, and later by
Page 7 - General Elections 1853–2020
Dates and turnout statistics for New Zealand general
Page 8 - Further information
Find out more about election days in New
Television in New Zealand
New Zealand’s first non-experimental television transmission went to air on 1 June 1960. To mark five decades of TV, in 2010 we presented five snapshots of Kiwi TV history. Explore pre-1960 experiments, TV news, music shows and modern election coverage - and discover how our own history has been showcased on the small screen. Read the full article
Page 5 - Elections on TV
It took a while for television to make its mark on New Zealand elections, but since the 1980s the small screen has become the decisive election
Women Together
Women's Electoral Lobby of New Zealand
–––When the Women's Electoral Lobby was formed in 1975, its goal was to achieve equality for women, encourage women to be active in public life, and ensure that people who would work for equality for women were elected and appointed to public office. Read the full Women Together Essay
Main image: Robert Muldoon campaigning, 1981
Robert Muldoon addressing a hostile crowd in Upper Hutt.
