| Parliament name |
House of Representatives |
| Structure of parliament |
Unicameral |
| BACKGROUND |
| Dates of election / renewal (from/to) |
26 November 2011 |
| 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. |
On 2 February 2011, Prime Minister John Key announced that the general election and a referendum on the electoral system would be held on 26 November.
In the previous elections held in November 2008, the National Party, led by Mr. Key, took 58 of the 122 seats at stake (see note), 15 more than the Labour Party of then Prime Minister Helen Clark. The Green Party took nine seats, while ACT New Zealand and the Maori Party took five seats each. Two other parties took one seat each. Ms. Clark resigned as Labour leader and was succeeded by Mr. Phil Goff. In late November, Mr. Key was sworn in as Prime Minister, ending nine years of a Labour-led government. His government was supported by the ACT New Zealand and United Future (one seat).
The global economic crisis which started in 2008 severely affected the country's economy. June 2009 marked the longest recession in the country's history after its economy shrunk for the fifth consecutive quarter. The unemployment rate hit a nine-year high of 6.5 per cent. By 2011, the country's budget deficit had reached a record NZ$18.4 billion (about US$ 13.6bn).
In January 2011, Prime Minister Key announced a plan to sell 49 per-cent stakes in four State-owned energy companies and Air New Zealand. The plan, criticized by the Labour Party, would become a major election issue in 2011. In February, a powerful earthquake hit Christchurch, New Zealand's second-largest city, killing 181 people. The quake aggravated an already ailing economy, causing consumer spending to nose-dive and leaving the country with a NZ$ 20-billion reconstruction bill. Unemployment rose to 6.6 per cent in September.
In all, 544 candidates including 147 women contested the 2011 elections, which once again saw a duel between the National Party and the Labour Party. Both parties focused on the economy and job creation.
Prime Minister Key's National Party pledged to halve the budget deficit in 2012 and achieve a surplus in the 2014-2015 fiscal year. It also promised to pass legislation to implement the "starting out wage", a lower wage for inexperienced young workers, in order to stem the rise of youth unemployment.
Labour Party leader Goff called on voters' support for his party, arguing that voting for the National Party would result in the sale of State assets despite strong public sentiment against the plan. The Labour Party promised to spur economic growth and create jobs by working with industries and tackling growing poverty.
On the referendum on the electoral system, Labour leader Goff said he would support the current mixed-member proportional system (MMP). Prime Minister Key said he would vote for the supplementary member system (SM, also known as the "parallel system"). The Prime Minister argued that the SM was not as "volatile" as the MMP, but still allowed for proportional representation, which was preferable to gender and ethnic balance.
On 26 November, 73.51 per cent of the 3 million registered voters turned out at the polls.
The final results gave 59 seats the National Party and 34 to the Labour Party. The Green Party and New Zealand First took 14 and eight seats respectively, while the Maori Party took three. Three other parties took one seat each. In all, 39 women were elected to a new 121-member parliament. Labour leader Goff, whose party lost nine electoral seats, resigned as party leader on 13 December.
On 5 December, Prime Minister Key announced that his National Party would form a coalition government with United Future and ACT New Zealand, both of which took one seat each.
In the referendum on the voting system, over 56 per cent of voters said that New Zealand should keep the MMP. In response to the question on which system they would prefer if New Zealand were to change to another voting system, 31% of the voters (the highest) favoured the first-past-the post (FPTP) system.
On 20 December, the newly elected Parliament held its first session and re-elected Mr. Alexander Lockwood Smith of the National Party as its Speaker.
Note:
Under the MMP, seats are first allocated to candidates winning electoral seats. Parties will then get a share of seats in Parliament in keeping with their share of "party votes". In cases where parties win more electoral seats than their share of seats determined by the party vote, they may keep the extra seats, the so called "overhang seats". In the 2008 elections, the Maori Party won two overhang seats, thus bringing the total number of seats to 122, in lieu of the statutory 120. |
| STATISTICS |
| Voter turnout |
| Round no 1 | 26 November 2011 |
Number of registered electors
Voters
Blank or invalid ballot papers
Valid votes |
3'070'847
2'257'336 (73.51%)
19'872
2'237'464 |
|
Notes
|
|
| Distribution of votes |
|
Round no 1
|
| Political Group |
Candidates |
Votes |
|
|
% |
|
|
| National Party |
|
1'058'637 |
|
|
47.31 |
|
|
| Labour Party |
|
614'935 |
|
|
27.48 |
|
|
| Green Party |
|
247'370 |
|
|
11.06 |
|
|
| New Zealand First |
|
147'544 |
|
|
6.59 |
|
|
| Maori Party |
|
31'982 |
|
|
1.43 |
|
|
| Mana |
|
24'168 |
|
|
108.00 |
|
|
| United Future |
|
13'443 |
|
|
0.60 |
|
|
| ACT New Zealand |
|
23'889 |
|
|
1.07 |
|
|
|
| Distribution of seats |
|
Round no 1
|
| Political Group |
Total
|
Electorate seats |
List seats |
|
|
| National Party |
59
|
41 |
18 |
|
|
| Labour Party |
34
|
23 |
11 |
|
|
| Green Party |
14
|
0 |
14 |
|
|
| New Zealand First |
8
|
0 |
8 |
|
|
| Maori Party |
3
|
3 |
0 |
|
|
| Mana |
1
|
1 |
0 |
|
|
| United Future |
1
|
1 |
0 |
|
|
| ACT New Zealand |
1
|
1 |
0 |
|
|
|
| Distribution of seats according to sex |
Men
Women
Percent of women |
82
39
32.23%
|
| Distribution of seats according to age |
|
|
|
| Distribution of seats according to profession |
|
|
| Comments |
Sources:
House of Representatives (17.12.2011, 22.12.2011, 01.01.2014)
http://www.electionresults.govt.nz/electionresults_2011/partystatus.html
http://www.electionresults.govt.nz/electionresults_2011/e9/html/e9_part1.html
http://www.electionresults.govt.nz/electionresults_2011/e9/html/e9_part9_1.html
http://www.parliament.nz/en-NZ/MPP/MPs/MPs/Default.htm?pf=Gender&sf=Female&lgc=0
http://www.dia.govt.nz |
|
Compare data for parliamentary chambers in the Last elections module
