Chamber:
	House of Representatives
Dates of elections / renewal (from/to):
	27 July 2002
Purpose of elections:
	Elections were held for all the seats in the House of Representatives on the normal expiry of the members' term of office.
Background and outcome of elections:
	The Prime Minister, Ms. Helen Clark, called an early election, at a time when support for the Labour Party in opinion polls exceeded 50 per cent and the Alliance, the junior coalition Government party, was disintegrating. Parliament was dissolved on 18 June 2002. The election campaign was less in the mould of the traditional contest between the two main parties, Labour and National, than a preoccupation with which of the smaller parties would support a main party in forming a Government. The Labour Party sought to campaign on the theme of a strong, stable government and its record in fulfilling its pledges. However, issues arose that affected support fro the party. Published allegations (subsequently refuted) of a cover-up of an accidental release of genetically-engineered corn, together with Labour's intention to proceed with lifting the moratorium in October 2003 on importing or releasing from containment new genetically-modified organisms, damaged the relationship between the Labour Party and the green Party, to the extent that the Prime Minister ruled out the latter becoming a partner in a coalition government. A minor controversy about the Prime Minster's signing for a charity auction a painting that she had failed to acknowledge was not done by her, and a teacher's strike over remuneration, may also have contributed to some fall-off in support. The National Party lost ground particularly to other parties of the centre and right-of-centre. The high profile of the president of the National Party, who had inaugurated steps to rejuvenate the party, and disclosure of an inquiry into a donation to the party in the lead-up to the 1996 election, did not assist the party. New Zealand First, which presented itself as a "can fix it" party and advocated a more restrictive immigration policy, regained support, while United Future New Zealand, the "common sense" party, is generally regarded as having been the beneficiary of the behaviour of the electronic "worm" which registered the response of supposedly undecided voters during a televised leaders' debate. The same number of parties were returned to the House but in rather different configurations. The senior government party, the centre-left Labour Party, increased its representation in the House by 3 seats to 52 seats, but insufficient for an outright majority in order to govern alone. The Progressive Coalition Party, the potential coalition Government partner, obtained only 2 seats, while the left-of-centre Alliance, the previous coalition Government partner from which it had divided and which had previously held 10 seats, did not manage to obtain any seats. The main opposition party, the centre-right National Party, obtained 27 seats, 12 fewer than in the 1999 election and the lowest result since the party's formation in 1938. The populist New Zealand First Party more than doubled its seats, winning 13, 8 more than in the 1999 elections. The centre-right United Future New Zealand Party, a merger of United and Future New Zealand (the latter formerly the Christian Coalition Party), made an unpredicted strong showing gaining 8 seats. The right-of-centre ACT New Zealand Party retained 9 seats, while the left-of-centre Green Party increased its representation in the House by 2 seats, to also hold 9 seats. The Labour Party entered into a coalition Government agreement with Jim Anderton's Progressive Coalition Party on 8 August 2002. An agreement was also concluded that day by the minority coalition Government with United Future that the latter would provide confidence and supply for the term of this Parliament to a Labour/Progressive Government. A co-operation agreement was entered into on 26 August 2002 by the Government with the Green Party on agreed areas of policy development and legislation.

STATISTICS

Round no 1 (27 July 2002): Elections results
Number of registered electors	2 670 030
Voters	2 055 404 (76.98%)
Blank or invalid ballot papers	23 787
Valid votes	2 031 617

The figures regarding the blank or invalid ballot papers and the valid votes correspond to the Party votes. The figures regarding the Electoral Votes are: Blank or invalid ballot papers: 59 818 Valid votes: 1 995 586

Round no 1: Distribution of votes
Political Group	Electoral votes	Party votes	Electoral votes %	Party votes %
Labour Party	891'866	838'219	44.69	41.26
National Party	609'458	425'310	30.54	20.93
New Zealand First	79'380	210'912	3.98	10.38
ACT New Zealand	70'888	145'078	3.55	7.14
Green Party	106'717	142'250	5.35	7.00
United Future	92'484	135'918	4.63	6.69
Jim Anderton's Progressive Coalition	36'647	34'542	1.84	1.70

Round no 1: Distribution of seats
Political Group	Total	Electorate seats	List Seats
Labour Party	52	45	7
National Party	27	21	6
New Zealand First	13	1	12
ACT New Zealand	9		9
Green Party	9	0	9
United Future	8	1	7
Jim Anderton's Progressive Coalition	2	1	1

Comments:
	ACT New Zealand: Association of Consumers and Taxpayers

Distribution of seats according to sex:
Men:	86
Women:	34
Percent of women:	28.33

Distribution of seats according to profession:
Business/Trade/Industry	23
Teachers	21
Legal professions	12
Managers	10
Farmers	10
Trade Unionists	9
Local government	7
Consultants	7
Engineers	3
Accountants	2
Journalists/writers/publishers	2
Others	14