By-elections in New Zealand occur to fill vacant seats in the

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entitles. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often c ...

. The death, resignation, or expulsion of a sitting electorate MP can cause a by-election. (Note that list MPs do not have geographic districts for the purpose of provoking by-elections – if a list MP's seat becomes vacant, the next person on his or her party's list fills the position.) Historically, by-elections were often caused by general elections being declared void.

Background

Under th
Electoral Act 1993
a by-election need not take place if a

general election A general election is a political voting election where generally all or most members of a given political body are chosen. These are usually held for a nation, state, or territory's primary legislative body, and are different from by-elections ( ...

will occur within six months of an electorate seat becoming vacant, although confirmation by a resolution supported by at least 75% of MPs is required. In 1996 the general election date was brought forward slightly, to 12 October, to avoid a by-election after the resignation of Michael Laws. Twice, in 1943 and 1969, by-elections were avoided after the deaths in election years of

Paraire Karaka Paikea Paraire Karaka Paikea (1 June 1894 – 6 April 1943) was a New Zealand Māori politician. Early life Of Te Uri-o-Hau and Ngāti Whātua descent, Paraire Karaka Paikea was born in Otamatea, in the Kaipara area of Northland. An ordained Met ...

and

Ralph Hanan Josiah Ralph Hanan (13 June 1909 – 24 July 1969), known as Ralph Hanan, was a New Zealand politician of the National Party. He was Mayor of Invercargill and then represented the electorate in Parliament, following in his uncle Josiah Hanan ...

by passing special acts, the
By-election Postponement Act 1943
and th
By-election Postponement Act 1969
In recent years by-elections have not occurred particularly frequently – only one in the 2002–2005 parliamentary term, and none in the 1999–2002 or 2005–2008 terms. This is because most MPs who retire mid-term (e.g. Labour MPs

Jim Sutton James Robert Sutton (born 7 November 1941), generally known as Jim Sutton, is a New Zealand politician who was a Member of Parliament between 1984 and 1990 and again between 1993 and 2006. He has held a range of ministerial portfolios includin ...

and Michael Cullen) were List MPs, so are simply replaced by the next member below them on their party list (unless that person is already an electorate MP, or does not agree). Some MPs have entered Parliament when two or more people above them on the list have declined, sometimes after pressure from their party: in 2008

Dail Jones Dail Michael John Jones (born 7 July 1944) is a New Zealand politician. He has been a member of the New Zealand First party, and was formerly in the National Party. Early life Jones was born in Karachi, British India, and attended St Jose ...

(New Zealand First) and Russel Norman (Green); and in 2011 Louisa Wall (Labour) after five above her on the list declined. Historically, however, they have taken place considerably more frequently – the 2nd Parliament of 1856–1860, for example, saw 33 by-elections and four supplementary elections, despite the House of Representatives originally having just 37 seats (increasing to 41 seats during the parliamentary term). In the past it was not uncommon for an MP who died in office to be replaced with an immediate family member such as a brother, wife (see widow's succession), or son. This resulted in the election of the first woman MP Elizabeth McCombs (who was in turn succeeded by her son

Terry McCombs Sir Terence Henderson McCombs (5 September 1905 – 6 November 1982) was a New Zealand politician of the Labour Party, a High Commissioner, and the first principal of Cashmere High School. Biography Early life McCombs was born in 1905 and re ...

), the first woman National MP Mary Grigg, and the first woman Māori MP Iriaka Rātana; all of whom took over their husband's seat. This practice has however fallen out of favour since the mid-seventies with the election of John Kirk to his late father's seat being the last occasion this happened at a by-election. Mary Grigg was elected unopposed, and Wood notes that the

1942 Mid-Canterbury by-election The 1942 Mid-Canterbury by-election was a by-election held on 27 January 1942 during the 26th New Zealand Parliament in the seat of Mid-Canterbury (New Zealand electorate), Mid-Canterbury. The by-election resulted from the death of Arthur Grigg; ...

is an extreme case where the election was gazetted without date of election, and four different dates are available from reputable sources: ''Official Year-book, Parliamentary Record, Journals of the House'' and J Boston.''By-elections in New Zealand; An Overview'' by J Boston in Political Science (32)2. Twelve Prime Ministers first came to parliament via by-elections: Julius Vogel, Harry Atkinson,

Robert Stout Sir Robert Stout (28 September 1844 – 19 July 1930) was a New Zealand politician who was the 13th premier of New Zealand on two occasions in the late 19th century, and later Chief Justice of New Zealand. He was the only person to hold both ...

, John Ballance, William Hall-Jones,

William Massey William Ferguson Massey (26 March 1856 – 10 May 1925), commonly known as Bill Massey, was a politician who served as the 19th prime minister of New Zealand from May 1912 to May 1925. He was the founding leader of the Reform Party, New Zea ...

, Peter Fraser, Keith Holyoake,

Walter Nash Sir Walter Nash (12 February 1882 – 4 June 1968) was a New Zealand politician who served as the 27th prime minister of New Zealand in the Second Labour Government from 1957 to 1960. He is noted for his long period of political service, havin ...

Bill Rowling Sir Wallace Edward Rowling (; 15 November 1927 – 31 October 1995), commonly known as Bill Rowling, was a New Zealand politician who was the 30th prime minister of New Zealand from 1974 to 1975. He held office as the parliamentary leader of t ...

, David Lange and Geoffrey Palmer. Six Prime Ministers ( William Fox, Henry Sewell,

Edward Stafford Edward Stafford may refer to: People * Edward Stafford, 2nd Earl of Wiltshire (1470–1498) *Edward Stafford, 3rd Duke of Buckingham (1478–1521), executed for treason *Edward Stafford, 3rd Baron Stafford (1535–1603) *Sir Edward Stafford (diplo ...

George Grey Sir George Grey, KCB (14 April 1812 – 19 September 1898) was a British soldier, explorer, colonial administrator and writer. He served in a succession of governing positions: Governor of South Australia, twice Governor of New Zealand, G ...

, Joseph Ward and

Jacinda Ardern Jacinda Kate Laurell Ardern ( ; born 26 July 1980) is a New Zealand politician who has been serving as the 40th prime minister of New Zealand and Leader of the New Zealand Labour Party, leader of the Labour Party since 2017. A member of the L ...

) have won by-elections later in their parliamentary careers, while Labour leaders

Harry Holland Henry Edmund Holland (10 June 1868 – 8 October 1933) was an Australian-born newspaper owner, politician and unionist who relocated to New Zealand. He was the second leader of the New Zealand Labour Party. Early life Holland was born at ...

and David Shearer were also first elected via a by-election. Some minor party founders have also launched their parties by resigning from a major party and their seat, then contesting it for their new party. Party founders who have done this include Matiu Rata and Tariana Turia. Both resigned from Labour to form Māori parties. In 1980 Rata was unsuccessful in retaking his

Northern Maori Northern Maori was one of New Zealand's four original parliamentary Māori electorates established in 1868, along with Eastern Maori, Western Maori and Southern Maori. In 1996, with the introduction of MMP, the Maori electorates were updated ...

electorate for his newly formed Mana Motuhake party, but in 2004 Turia successfully reclaimed Te Tai Hauauru for the Māori Party. In addition, Winston Peters resigned from National and his parliamentary seat in 1993, retaking the seat as an independent and going on to form the

New Zealand First New Zealand First ( mi, Aotearoa Tuatahi), commonly abbreviated to NZ First, is a nationalist and populist political party in New Zealand. The party formed in July 1993 following the resignation on 19 March 1993 of its leader and founder, Wi ...

party. In these circumstances, by-elections are seen as a legitimisation of the MP's rejection of his or her old party. In addition, they provide vital publicity and something of a mandate for the new party. By-elections for the party in government in the two-party era due to a resignation were sometimes an opportunity for party supporters to abstain or to vote against the government if they disapprove of their party's policies, without endangering the government.

Bruce Beetham Bruce Craig Beetham (16 February 1936 – 3 May 1997) was an academic and politician from New Zealand, whose career spanned the 1970s and early 1980s. A lecturer at Hamilton's University of Waikato and at the Hamilton Teachers' Training Coll ...

entered parliament for Social Credit at the 1978 Rangitikei by-election, as did

Gary Knapp Gary Thomas Knapp (born 1947) is a former New Zealand politician of the Social Credit Party. Political career He became Member of Parliament for in 1980 when he defeated National candidate Don Brash in the caused by the resignation of ...

in the

1980 East Coast Bays by-election The East Coast Bays by-election of 1980 was a by-election during the 39th New Zealand Parliament in the East Coast Bays (New Zealand electorate), East Coast Bays electorate. It resulted in an upset for the New Zealand National Party, National Par ...

. In the

1994 Selwyn by-election The Selwyn by-election, a by-election in the New Zealand electorates, New Zealand electorate of Selwyn (New Zealand electorate), Selwyn – a predominantly rural district in the Canterbury Plains in New Zealand's South Island – took place on 1 ...

National retained the seat, but the Alliance candidate came second, perhaps held by votes from disaffected Labour voters for the Alliance candidate. The

1926 Eden by-election The 1926 Eden by-election was a by-election for the Eden electorate during the 22nd New Zealand Parliament. The seat became vacant after the appointment of the sitting member, James Parr of the Reform Party as High Commissioner to London. Parr ...

was won by Labour who became the official opposition, helped by a split over the Reform candidate selection.

Pre-party era

Liberal Party era

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Multi-party era

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Two-party era (1938–1996)

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MMP era (1996–present)

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