New Zealand is a representative democracy in which members of the unicameral New Zealand Parliament gain their seats through elections. General elections are usually held every three years; they may be held at an earlier date (a "snap" election) at the discretion of the prime minister (advising the governor-general), but that usually only happens in the event of a vote of no confidence or other exceptional circumstances. A by-election is held to fill an electorate vacancy arising during a parliamentary term. Election day is always a Saturday, but advance voting is allowed in the lead-up to it. The most recent general election took place on 14 October 2023.

New Zealand has a multi-party system due to proportional representation. The introduction of the mixed-member proportional (MMP) voting system in 1993 was the most significant change to the electoral system in the 20th century. The Electoral Commission is responsible for the administration of parliamentary elections. The introduction of MMP has led to mostly minority or coalition governments, but the first party to win an outright majority since the introduction of MMP was the Labour Party, led by Jacinda Ardern, in 2020.

Local government politicians, including mayors and councillors, are voted in during local elections, held every three years. Most of these elections use the first-past-the-post (FPP) voting system, however, at the last local elections in 2022, 15 councils used the single transferable vote (STV) system, which has increasingly been adopted by councils since the 2000s.

Overview of elections

History

The first general and provincial elections in New Zealand took place in 1853, the year after the British Parliament passed the New Zealand Constitution Act 1852. Women's suffrage was introduced in 1893, with New Zealand being the first modern country to do so.

Almost all general elections between and were held under the first-past-the-post voting system. The first election under the mixed-member proportional (MMP) system was held in following the 1993 electoral referendum.

Electoral roll The electoral roll consists of a register of all enrolled voters, organised (primarily alphabetically by surname) within electorates. All persons who meet the requirements for voting must by law register on the electoral roll, even if they do not intend to vote. Although eligible voters must be enrolled, voting in New Zealand elections is not compulsory.

To be eligible to enrol, a person must be 18 years or older, a New Zealand citizen or non-citizen "resident for electoral purposes" that "has at some time resided continuously in New Zealand for a period of not less than 1 year" according to the Electoral Act 1993 and Electoral Amendment Act 2025.Enrolling Details FAQ. , Elections New Zealand, Enrolling – FAQ. Retrieved 5 April 2009. People can provisionally enrol to vote once they turn 17, with them being automatically enrolled on their 18th birthday.

The Registrar of Births Deaths and Marriages automatically notifies a person's death to the Electoral Commission so they may be removed from the roll. An enrolment update campaign is conducted prior to every local and general election in order to keep the roll up to date, identifying any voters who have failed to update their address or cannot be found.

The roll records the name, address and stated occupation of all voters, although individual electors can apply for "unpublished" status on the roll in special circumstances, such as when having their details printed in the electoral roll could threaten their personal safety. The roll is "public information" meaning it can be used for legitimate purposes such as selecting people for jury service but it can be abused especially by marketing companies who use the electoral roll to send registered voters unsolicited advertising mail. According to Elections New Zealand, "having the printed electoral rolls available for the public to view is a part of the open democratic process of New Zealand". Elections New Zealand, Viewing the printed electoral rolls. Retrieved 5 April 2009. The Electoral Commission, in their report on the 2017 general election, recommended that roll sales be discontinued for anything other than electoral purposes.

Electorates and lists

New Zealanders refer to electoral districts as "electorates", or more colloquially as "seats". Since the 2020 general election, there are 72 electorates, including seven Māori electorates reserved for people of Māori ethnicity or ancestry who choose to place themselves on a separate electoral roll. All of New Zealand is covered by a general electorate and an overlapping Māori electorate. According to the New Zealand Electoral Commission, "The Representation Commission reviews and adjusts electorate boundaries after each 5-yearly population census and the Māori Electoral Option."

All electorates have roughly the same number of people in them; the Representation Commission periodically reviews and alters electorate boundaries to preserve this approximate balance. The number of people per electorate depends on the population of the South Island, which as the less populous of the country's two main islands has sixteen guaranteed electorates. Hence, the ideal number of people per electorate equals the population of the South Island divided by sixteen. From this, the Commission determines the number of North Island, Māori and list seats, which may fluctuate accordingly. The number of electorates increased by one compared to the 2017 election to account for the North Island's higher population growth, creating Takanini; and the boundaries of 30 general electorates and five Māori electorates were adjusted.

Supplementing the geographic electorate seats, the system allows for 48 at-large "list seats". A nationwide party vote fills these seats from closed lists submitted by political parties; they serve to make a party's total share of seats in parliament reflect its share of the party vote. For example, if a party wins 20% of the party vote, but only ten electorate seats, it will win fourteen list-seats, so that it has a total of 24 seats: 20% of the 120 seats in parliament. (See .)

Timing of elections

General elections

Unlike some other countries, New Zealand has no fixed election-date for general elections, but rather the prime minister determines the timing of general elections by advising the governor-general when to issue the writ for a general election. The Constitution Act 1986 requires new parliamentary elections every three years. The 1910s, 1930s and 1940s saw three elections delayed due to World War I, the Great Depression and World War II, respectively: the 1919, 1935 and 1943 elections would otherwise have taken place in 1917, 1934 and 1941 (Parliaments passed Acts extending their terms). Also, governments have occasionally called early, or "snap" elections (for example, in 1951 in the midst of an industrial dispute involving striking waterfront workers).

The term of Parliament and the timing of general elections is set out in the Constitution Act 1986 and the Electoral Act 1993. Under section 19 of the Constitution Act, Parliament must meet within six weeks of the return of the writ for a general election, while under section 17, the term of Parliament ends three years after the return of the writ, unless Parliament is dissolved earlier by the governor-general. Section 125 of the Electoral Act requires that whenever Parliament expires or is dissolved, the governor-general must issue a writ of election within seven days. Section 139 of the Electoral Act provides further constraints. The writ must be returned within 50 days of being issued, though the governor-general may appoint an earlier return date in the writ itself. Furthermore, election day must be between 20 and 27 days after the close of nominations. Thus, New Zealand law specifically mandates elections at least once every three years and two months, though elections are often held after three years, traditionally in November. The extra two months allow for some flexibility when returning to a fourth-quarter election after an early election, as happened in 2005 and 2008 after the 2002 snap election.

Snap elections have occurred three times in New Zealand's history: in 1951, 1984 and 2002. Early elections often provoke controversy, as they potentially give governing parties an advantage over opposition candidates. Of the three elections in which the government won an increased majority, two were snap elections (1951 and 2002 – the other incumbent-boosting election took place in 1938). The 1984 snap election backfired on the governing party: many believe that Prime Minister Robert Muldoon called it while drunk. The 1996 election took place slightly early (on 12 October) to avoid holding a by-election after the resignation of Michael Laws.

As in other Westminster-style democracies, the prime minister's power to determine the election date can give the government some subtle advantages. For example, if the prime minister determines a section of the population will either vote against their government or not at all, they might hold the election at the most advantageous time – as long as it is within three years. Party strategists take the timing of important rugby union matches into account, partly because a major match in the same weekend of the election will likely lower voting-levels, and partly because of a widespread belief that incumbent governments benefit from a surge of national pride when the All Blacks (the New Zealand national rugby team) win, and suffer when they lose.

Throughout the late 20th century and beginning of the 21st century, tradition associated elections with November – give or take a few weeks. After disruptions to the 36-month cycle, prime ministers moved to restore it to a November base. In 1950, the legal requirement to hold elections on a Saturday was introduced, and this first applied to the . Beginning with the , a convention was formed to hold general elections on the last Saturday of November. This convention was upset by Muldoon calling a snap election in 1984. It took until the to get back towards the convention, only for Helen Clark to call an early election in . By the , the conventional "last Saturday of November" was achieved again. From the , the trend has been to hold the election in September or October; the , delayed from September to October due to the COVID-19 pandemic, caused the 2023 election to also be held in October. The date chosen for the 2026 election was 7 November.

Local elections

Unlike general elections, elections for the city, district and regional councils of New Zealand have a fixed election date. Under section 10 of the Local Electoral Act 2001, elections must be held on the "second Saturday in October in every third year" from the date the Act came into effect in 2001. The latest local body elections were held on 11 October 2025.

Nomination and deposit of political parties and candidates A party that has more than 500 fee-paying members may register with the Electoral Commission. Registered parties may submit a party list on payment of a $1000 deposit. This deposit is refunded if the party reaches 0.5% of the party votes. Electorate candidates may be nominated by a registered party or by two voters in that electorate. The deposit for an electorate candidate is $300 which is refunded if they reach 5%.

Voting