The 1914 New Zealand general election was held on 10 December to elect a total of 80 MPs to the 19th session of the New Zealand Parliament. The Maori vote was held on 11 December. A total number of 616,043 voters were registered, of which 84.7% voters turned out to vote.
The election saw William Massey's Reform Government maintain power.
Background The second-ballot voting system had been repealed in 1913, and first-past-the-post voting reinstated for the 1914 election. Soldiers serving overseas in the NZEF were given a vote by the Expeditionary Forces Voting Act, 1914. They voted for a party (Liberal, Labour or Reform) and their votes were allocated to a candidate for their electorate by a representative of their party; which sometimes required the representative to choose between rival "Liberal" or "Labour" candidates.
Summary of results Party totals Election resultsParty Candidates Total votes Percentage Seats wonReform Party84243,02545.4740Liberal Party77227,70642.6134United Labour1022,672 4.243Social Democrat1122,5004.212Independents1218,5543.471Total valid votes534,45780Informal votes5,6181.04Registered voters616,043Total candidates 193
Auckland West, Hawke's Bay, Taumarunui, Wairarapa, Waitaki and Wellington Central were won by the Liberals from Reform Chalmers, Dunedin West, Motueka, and Northern Maori were won by Reform from the Liberals Nelson was won by Reform from an independent. Otaki was won by Reform from the Social Democrats. Dunedin North was won by United Labour from Reform Four electorates replaced their incumbent MP with another from the same party: Christchurch East and Temuka (Liberal), Eden and Wellington Suburbs and Country (Reform).
Votes summary
Results The following are the results of the 1914 general election:
Key
|colspan=8 style="background-color:#FFDEAD" | General electorates
|colspan=8 style="background-color:#FFDEAD" | Māori electorates
Table footnotes:
Aftermath There were many close results in dozens of electorates, six were decided by less than 100 votes. The government's majority was precarious for many months and it was particularly disappointed by their losses in Taumarunui and Hawkes Bay to the Liberals. The Reform Party filed a record number of electoral petitions, alleging irregularities. Several by-elections were necessitated on grounds of irregularities in Dunedin Central, Bay of Islands and Taumarunui. The Liberal Party campaigned vigorously to gain Bay of Islands, retain Taumarunui and supported the United Labour Party candidate (Jim Munro) in Dunedin Central. If all results went his way, it was conceivable for Liberal leader, Sir Joseph Ward, to form a minority government with Labour support. Ward even made preparations for a return to power, but the Reform Party managed to hold their two seats and continue in power.
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References
See also Politics of New Zealand Elections in New Zealand