2017 New Zealand general election

election on 23 September 2017

The 2017 New Zealand general election took place on Saturday 23 September 2017 to elect the membership of the 52nd New Zealand Parliament along with the Prime Minister of New Zealand. The last parliament was elected on 20 September 2014 and officially ended on 22 August 2017.[1]

2017 New Zealand general election

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52nd New Zealand Parliament →

All 120 seats in the House of Representatives
61 seats needed for a majority
Opinion polls
Turnout2,630,173 (79.8%) Increase1.9%
 First partySecond partyThird party
 
Bill English July 2017.jpg
Jacinda Ardern, 2018.jpg
Winston Peters - 2017 (38351102806) (cropped).jpg
LeaderBill EnglishJacinda ArdernWinston Peters
PartyNationalLabourNZ First
Leader's seatListMount AlbertList
(lost Northland)
Last election60 seats, 47.04%32 seats, 25.13%11 seats, 8.66%
Seats before593212
Seats won56469
Seat changeDecrease 3Increase 14Decrease 3
Electorate vote1,114,367
44.05%
Decrease 2.03 pp
958,155
37.88%
Increase 3.75 pp
137,816
5.45%
Increase 2.32 pp
Party vote1,152,075
44.45%
Decrease 2.59 pp
956,184
36.89%
Increase 11.76 pp
186,706
7.20%
Decrease 1.46 pp

 Fourth partyFifth partySixth party
 
James Shaw, 2014.jpg
David Seymour at ACT Selection Announcement for Leader and Epsom.jpg
Marama Fox and Te Ururoa Flavell.png
LeaderJames ShawDavid SeymourMarama Fox
Te Ururoa Flavell
PartyGreenACTMāori Party
Leader's seatListEpsomList
Waiariki
(lost both seats)
Last election14 seats, 10.70%1 seat, 0.69%2 seats, 1.32%
Seats before1412
Seats won810
Seat changeDecrease 6SteadyDecrease 2
Electorate vote174,725
6.91%
Decrease 0.15 pp
25,471
1.01%
Decrease 0.17 pp
53,247
2.11%
Increase 0.32 pp
Party vote162,443
6.27%
Decrease4.43 pp
13,075
0.50%
Decrease 0.19 pp
30,580
1.18%
Decrease 0.14 pp

Map of the general election. Electorate results are shown on the left, Maori electorate results in the centre, and the list members on the right.

Prime Minister before election

Bill English
National

Subsequent Prime Minister

Jacinda Ardern
Labour

Jacinda Ardern became New Zealand's third female Prime Minister, and Winston Peters again became Deputy Prime Minister, a role he had first held in 1996–98.[2] This ended nine years under the National Party Government. Ardern became Prime Minister after the Labour Party agreed to create a coalition with Peters's New Zealand First party, thus making him Deputy Prime Minister. Their shared votes were larger than that of English, thus defeating him.[2]

About

Voters elected 120 members to the House of Representatives under New Zealand's mixed-member proportional (MMP) voting system, a system in which 71 members were elected from single-member electorates and 49 members were elected from closed party lists.

Around 3.57 million people were registered to vote in the election,[3] with 2.63 million (79.8%) turning out. Advance voting proved popular, with 1.24 million votes cast before election day, more than the previous two elections combined.[4]

Candidates

The centre-right National Party, led by Prime Minister Bill English, had governed since 2008 in a minority government. It was the first election for English as incumbent Prime Minister, having replaced John Key on 12 December 2016 and the first since 1975 where both major parties had leadership changes. The main opposition parties to the National government were Labour (the official opposition), led by Jacinda Ardern, the Green Party, and New Zealand First.

Opinion polling

Results

Party affiliation of winning electorate candidates.
Popular vote
National
44.45%
Labour
36.89%
NZ First
7.20%
Green
6.27%
Opportunities
2.24%
Māori
1.18%
ACT
0.50%
Others
1.07%
Parliament seats
National
46.67%
Labour
38.33%
NZ First
7.50%
Green
6.67%
ACT
0.83%

References