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New Zealand General Election and Referendum on the Voting System 2011 – Official Results

The Electoral Commission has declared the official results for the 2011 General Election and Referendum on the Voting System.

General Election in summary:
  • The number of seats in Parliament will be 121.
  • The National Party has lost one list seat compared to election night, and now has 59 seats in total.
  • The Green Party has gained one list seat compared to election night, and now has 14 seats in total.
  • There are no changes to the number of seats held on election night by other parties.
  • National Party candidate Nicky Wagner has won the Christchurch Central electorate seat with a majority of 45.
  • Labour Party candidate Carmel Sepuloni has won the Waitakere electorate seat with a majority of 11.
  • All other electorate candidates leading on election night have been confirmed as winning their seats.
  • The turnout as a percentage of enrolled electors is 74.21 percent (2008 – 79.46 percent).
Referendum on the Voting System in summary:
  • In Part A of the Referendum, 57.77 percent of valid votes were cast in favour of keeping MMP as New Zealand’s voting system.
  • In Part B of the Referendum, the most preferred alternative system was First Past the Post (FPP), with 46.66 percent of valid votes.
Details of the official results are available from www.electionresults.govt.nz (from 2.00pm).
 

Background

The official results for the 2011 General Election and Referendum on the Voting System held on 26 November 2011 have been determined in accordance with the electoral legislation. The results are subject to any applications for judicial recounts.
 
The scrutiny of the rolls has been completed as required by law and the master roll for each electorate has been prepared.
 
All votes cast on election night have been recounted and balanced and special votes have been checked for eligibility before being counted. This has been done in the presence of Justices of the Peace and any scrutineers appointed by candidates.
 
Comprehensive audit checks have also been completed at the national level to ensure the results are accurate.
 

Overall Results – 2011 General Election

Total Votes Cast
        2,257,336*
Party               

Party
Votes

%
Votes

Electorate
Seats

List
Seats

Total
Seats
National Party
1,058,638
47.31
41
18
59
Labour Party
614,936
27.48
23
11
34
Green Party
247,370
11.06
0
14
14
New Zealand First Party
147,544
6.59
0
8
8
Māori Party
31,982
1.43
3
0
3
Mana
24,168
1.08
1
0
1
ACT New Zealand
23,889
1.07
1
0
1
United Future
13,443
0.6
1
0
1
Conservative Party
59,236
2.65
0
0
0
Aotearoa Legalise Cannabis Party
11,738
0.52
0
0
0
Democrats for Social Credit
1,714
0.08
0
0
0
Libertarianz
1,595
0.07
0
0
0
Alliance
1,209
0.05
0
0
0
 
70
51
121

*includes informal votes. The results are calculated using the St Lague formula.

Composition of Parliament

The size of Parliament will be 121 seats, an increase of 1 seat over the normal 120 seat Parliament that New Zealand’s system of MMP is based upon. The additional seat is because the Māori Party won more electorate seats (3 seats) than its entitlement under the party vote (2 seats).

There are 4 changes compared to election night.
 
The National Party has a total of 59 seats, one less than on election night.
 
The Green Party has a total of 14 seats, one more than on election night.
 
There are no changes to the number of seats held by other parties on election night.
 
National Party candidate Nicky Wagner has won the Christchurch Central electorate seat with a majority of 45.
 
Labour Party candidate Carmel Sepuloni has won the Waitakere electorate seat with a majority of 11.
 
All other electorate candidates leading on election night have been confirmed as winning their seats.
 

Successful Candidates (electorate and list)

The names of the 121 successful candidates (electorate and list) are shown in alphabetical order under their parties at www.electionresults.govt.nz.
 
The winning electorate candidates and their majorities are available from www.electionresults.govt.nz.
 

Detailed Results for each Electorate 

Detailed results for each electorate are available from www.electionresults.govt.nz.
 

Turnout and Special Votes

The number of voters as a percentage of enrolled voters was 74.21 percent. Turnout for each electorate is available from www.electionresults.govt.nz.
 
Special votes totalled 263,469 or 11.6 percent of total votes cast.
 

Declaration and Judicial Recounts

The official results were declared by Gazette Notice today. Any applications for a judicial recount must be filed with the District Court no later than Wednesday 14 December 2011.
 

Next Steps for the Parliamentary Election

If there are no applications for recounts, on Thursday 15 December the Electoral Commission will return the writ to the Clerk of the House of Representatives, allocate list seats in the presence of party scrutineers and declare by Gazette Notice the election of list members of Parliament. 
 
If there is a judicial recount the return of the writ and the election of list members will be delayed until any recounts are complete.
 

Further Statistics 

Detailed information including allocation of list seats, polling place information and special vote statistics, is expected to be available, subject to recounts, in the week commencing 19 December 2011 at www.electionresults.org.nz.
 
Overall Results – Referendum on the Voting System
 

Part A - Should New Zealand keep the Mixed Member Proportional (MMP) voting system?
 
Number of Votes
Percentage of Valid Votes
Percentage of Total Votes
KEEP
1,267,955
57.77%
56.17%
CHANGE
926,819
42.23%
41.06%
Total Valid Votes
2,194,774
100.00%
97.23%
Informal Votes*
62,469
  
2.77%
Total Votes
2,257,243
  
100.00%
 
 
 
 

Part B - If New Zealand were to change to another voting system, which voting system would you choose?
 
Number of Votes
Percentage of Valid Votes
Percentage of Total Votes
First Past the Post (FPP)
704,117
46.66%
31.19%
Preferential Voting (PV)
188,164
12.47%
8.34%
Single Transferable Vote (STV)
252,503
16.73%
11.19%
Supplementary Member (SM)
364,373
24.14%
16.14%
Total Valid Votes
1,509,157
100.00%
66.86%
Informal Votes*
748,086
  
33.14%
Total Votes
2,257,243
  
100.00%
         
 *An informal vote is when the voter has not clearly indicated the option for which they wish to vote.
 

Referendum Results for each Electorate 

Referendum results for each electorate are available from www.electionresults.govt.nz .
 

Further Statistics

Polling place by polling place and split vote information for the Referendum on the Voting System is expected to be available from 1 February 2012 at www.electionresults.govt.nz .
 

Next Steps for the Referendum

The Electoral Commission expects to announce on Monday 12 December the process and timetable for the review of MMP that is required as a result of the Referendum outcome.