List of parliaments of New Zealand explained

Since the adoption of the New Zealand Constitution Act 1852, which granted New Zealand self-governance from Britain, New Zealand has had its own parliament. Regular elections to the New Zealand House of Representatives have been held since the first in 1853.

This page lists every parliament of New Zealand along with:^{[1] [2]}

• its corresponding general election and the date(s) of that election;
• the term for which that parliament met; and
• the partisan makeup of each parliament after the introduction of political parties (this does not include later changes to parliamentary composition).

Note that it was not until the election of members of the 8th Parliament in 1881 that all positions were filled on the same day. Until then, polls were held in individual electorates on different days within an election period. Elections for members of Māori electorates, which commenced with supplementary elections in 1868, were held separately from elections for general electorates until the election of the 30th Parliament in 1951.

List of parliaments

Key for political party colours (see also: List of political parties in New Zealand)

Parliament! colspan="4"

Election	Term of Parliament		Parliamentary makeup (as at date of election)
Year	Date (General)	Date (Māori)		Turnout	Start	End
1st	1853	14 July 1853 – 1 October 1853	—	—	24 May 1854	15 September 1855	37:
2nd	1855	26 October 1855 – 28 December 1855	—	—	15 April 1856	5 November 1860	37:
3rd	1860/61	12 December 1860 – 28 March 1861	—	—	3 June 1861	30 October 1865	53:
4th	1866/1868	12 February 1866 – 6 April 1866	15 April 1868 – 20 June 1868	—	30 June 1866	13 September 1870	70:
5th	1871	14 January 1871 – 23 February 1871	1 February 1871 – 15 February 1871	—	14 August 1871	21 October 1875	78:
6th	1875/76	20 December 1875 – 29 January 1876	4 January 1876 – 15 January 1876	—	15 June 1876	11 August 1879	88:
7th	1879	28 August 1879 – 15 September 1879	8 September 1879	66.50%	24 September 1879	24 September 1881	88:
8th	1881	8 December 1881	9 December 1881	66.50%	18 May 1882	24 June 1884	95:
9th	1884	21 July 1884	22 July 1884	60.60%	7 August 1884	10 June 1887	95:
10th	1887	7 September 1887	26 September 1887	67.10%	6 October 1887	17 September 1890	95:
11th	1890	27 November 1890	5 December 1890	80.40%	23 January 1891	6 October 1893	74:
12th	1893	28 November 1893	20 December 1893	75.20%	21 June 1894	17 October 1896	74:
13th	1896	4 December 1896	19 December 1896	76.10%	6 April 1897	23 October 1899	74:
14th	1899	6 December 1899	19 December 1899	77.60%	21 June 1900	3 October 1902	74:
15th	1902	5 November 1902	22 December 1902	76.70%	29 June 1903	30 October 1905	80:
16th	1905	6 December 1905	20 December 1905	83.30%	27 June 1906	10 October 1908	80:
17th	1908	17 November 1908	2 December 1908	79.80%	10 June 1909	28 October 1911	80:
18th	1911	7 December 1911	19 December 1911	83.50%	15 February 1912	5 November 1914	80:
19th	1914	10 December 1914	11 December 1914	84.70%	24 June 1915	5 November 1919	80:
20th	1919	16 December 1919	17 December 1919	80.50%	24 June 1920	31 October 1922	80:
21st	1922	6 December 1922	7 December 1922	88.70%	7 February 1923	1 October 1925	80:
22nd	1925	3 November 1925	4 November 1925	90.90%	16 June 1926	9 October 1928	80:
23rd	1928	13 October 1928	14 October 1928	88.10%	4 December 1928	11 November 1931	80:
24th	1931	1 December 1931	2 December 1931	83.30%	23 February 1932	26 October 1935	80:
25th	1935	26 November 1935	27 November 1935	90.80%	25 March 1936	16 September 1938	80:
26th	1938	14 October 1938	15 October 1938	92.90%	27 June 1939	26 August 1943	80:
27th	1943	24 September 1943	25 September 1943	82.80%	22 February 1944	12 October 1946	80:
28th	1946	26 November 1946	27 November 1946	93.50%	24 June 1947	21 October 1949	80:
29th	1949	29 November 1949	30 November 1949	93.50%	27 June 1950	13 July 1951	80:
30th	1951	1 September 1951		89.10%	25 September 1951	1 October 1954	80:
31st	1954	13 November 1954		91.40%	22 March 1955	25 October 1957	80:
32nd	1957	30 November 1957		92.90%	21 January 1958	28 October 1960	80:
33rd	1960	26 November 1960		89.80%	29 June 1961	25 October 1963	80:
34th	1963	30 November 1963		89.60%	10 June 1964	29 October 1966	80:
35th	1966	26 November 1966		86.00%	26 April 1967	24 October 1969	80:
36th	1969	29 November 1969		88.90%	12 March 1970	5 July 1974	84:
37th	1972	25 November 1972		89.10%	14 February 1973	10 October 1975	87:
38th	1975	29 November 1975		82.50%	22 June 1976	6 October 1978	87:
39th	1978	25 November 1978		69.20%	16 May 1979	23 October 1981	92:
40th	1981	28 November 1981		91.40%	6 April 1982	14 June 1984	92:
41st	1984	14 July 1984		93.70%	15 August 1984	29 July 1987	95:
42nd	1987	15 August 1987		89.10%	16 September 1987	6 September 1990	97:
43rd	1990	27 October 1990		85.20%	28 November 1990	23 September 1993	97:
44th	1993	6 November 1993		85.20%	21 December 1993	27 August 1996	99:
45th	1996	12 October 1996		88.30%	12 December 1996	5 October 1999	120:
46th	1999	27 November 1999		84.10%	20 December 1999	11 June 2002	120:
47th	2002	27 July 2002		77.00%	26 August 2002	2 August 2005	120:
48th	2005	17 September 2005		80.90%	7 November 2005	23 September 2008	121:
49th	2008	8 November 2008		78.70%	8 December 2008	6 October 2011	122:
50th	2011	26 November 2011		74.20%	20 December 2011	31 July 2014	121:
51st	2014	20 September 2014		77.90%	20 October 2014	18 August 2017	121:
52nd	2017	23 September 2017		79.80%	7 November 2017	6 September 2020	120:
53rd	2020	17 October 2020		82.50%	25 November 2020	8 September 2023	120:
54th	2023	14 October 2023		78.20%	5 December 2023	Current	123:

See also

• List of New Zealand governments

Notes and References

1. Web site: 1853-2020 general elections: Overview . Vote.nz . Electoral Commission.
2. Web site: 1890–1993 general elections: Overview . Vote.nz . Electoral Commission.