2023 New Zealand general election

A general election took place in New Zealand on 14 October 2023 to determine the composition of the 54th New Zealand Parliament. Voters elected 122 members to the unicameral New Zealand House of Representatives under the mixed-member proportional voting system, with 71 members elected from single-member electorates and the remaining 51 members elected from closed party lists. Of the 72 electorates, only 71 seats were filled, with the remaining electorate MP determined in the 2023 Port Waikato by-election, due to the death of one of the general election candidates. Two overhang seats were added due to Te Pāti Māori winning six electorate seats when the party vote only entitled them to four seats, with an additional overhang seat added after the National party won the Port Waikato by-election, making for 123 members of parliament.
The incumbent centre-left Labour Party, led by Chris Hipkins, were defeated at the polls, with the centre-right National Party, led by Christopher Luxon, becoming the largest party in the new parliament. The election saw the worst defeat of a sitting government in New Zealand since the introduction of the MMP voting system in 1996, with Labour going from having 65 seats in the first-ever outright majority any party had won under MMP to winning just 34 seats. Labour faced a 23-percentage-point swing against it, failing to mobilise its previous voters in Auckland, especially among young renters or those living in the poorest electorates. National conversely improved its party vote share by 12 points, but returned the second lowest vote share of any party that won the most seats under MMP, the lowest being in 1996. Additionally, Labour and National's combined vote share was the third lowest it had ever been under MMP, and the lowest since 2002. The Green and ACT parties and Te Pāti Maori all increased their vote share, while New Zealand First gained enough votes to return to parliament after being ousted in the 2020 election.
The election had a noticeably [|turbulent campaign], marked by increased political polarisation and heated disputes over indigenous rights and the theory of co-governance. National made gains in many Auckland electorates that were once considered to be safe Labour seats, such as Mount Roskill and New Lynn, whilst also coming close to winning Jacinda Ardern's former seat of Mount Albert after the left vote was split between Labour and the Greens. The Greens won three electorates, gaining Rongotai and Wellington Central from Labour, while ACT won two electorates, gaining Tāmaki from National. Te Pāti Māori claimed five Māori seats from Labour, which saw 21-year-old Hana-Rawhiti Maipi-Clarke become the youngest MP elected in 170 years and in the process unseated incumbent foreign affairs minister Nanaia Mahuta.
Prime Minister Hipkins conceded on election night, paving the way for a National-led government under Christopher Luxon. To form a government, the National Party required support from the ACT Party and New Zealand First. On 24 November 2023, Luxon announced the formation of a coalition government with ACT and New Zealand First. On 27 November 2023, Luxon was sworn in as prime minister by Governor-General Dame Cindy Kiro, thereby marking the end of six years under the Sixth Labour Government and the beginning of the Sixth National Government.

Background

The previous general election held on 17 October 2020 resulted in a majority for the Labour Party, winning 65 seats, allowing them to continue the Sixth Labour Government unrestricted in the 53rd Parliament. Their coalition partner from the 52nd Parliament, New Zealand First, did not receive enough votes to pass the five percent threshold or win in an electorate, removing them from Parliament. Confidence and supply partner the Green Party received 10 seats, up two, becoming the first minor party ever to increase their share of the vote following a term in government. In the opposition, the National Party lost 23 seats, giving them a total of 33, and ACT New Zealand went from one seat to ten. Te Pāti Māori won a Māori electorate and gained an additional list seat, returning to Parliament after a one-term absence, having lost all seats in the 2017 election.
In the 2022 Tauranga by-election, National retained the marginal seat with a large swing away from Labour. In the 2022 Hamilton West by-election, National gained the seat from Labour.
Since the previous election, the leadership of both the Labour and National parties changed. Christopher Luxon replaced Judith Collins as National leader on 30 November 2021. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced her resignation on 19 January 2023 and was succeeded later that month by education minister Chris Hipkins.

Electoral system

New Zealand uses a mixed-member proportional voting system to elect the 120 members of the House of Representatives. Each voter gets two votes: one for a political party and one for a local candidate. Political parties that meet the threshold receive seats in the House in proportion to the share of the party vote they receive.
72 of the 120 seats are filled by the MPs elected from the electorates, with the winner in each electorate determined by the first-past-the-post method. Electorate boundaries for the election were the same as for the 2020 election, with 65 general electorates and 7 Māori electorates. Boundaries are due to be redrawn in 2024, after the 2023 census.
The remaining 48 seats are filled by candidates from each party's closed party list. If a party wins more electorates than seats it is entitled to under the party vote, an overhang seat occurs; in that case, the party winning overhang seats keeps that many extra seats in addition to the 120 seats distributed proportionally.
New Zealand electoral law also allows for an overhang seat to be created if a candidate dies between the opening and closing of the vote. In 2023, this occurred for the first time since the adoption of MMP. The ACT candidate for Port Waikato, Neil Christensen, died on 9 October. As a result, the electorate vote was required to be cancelled in the electorate, and a by-election was scheduled for November, after the general election, to determine the MP for Port Waikato. Voters in Port Waikato continued to cast party votes in the general election. Electoral law requires that 120 seats, excluding overhang, are filled proportionally through the general election. Therefore the electoral system provided for a 49th list MP to be elected through the general election and a 121st MP through the Port Waikato by-election.
The political party or party bloc with the majority of the seats in the House forms the government. Since the introduction of MMP in 1996, no party had won enough votes to win an outright majority of seats until the landslide 2020 Labour victory, which gave them 65 seats. When no party has commanded a majority, parties have had to negotiate with other parties to form a coalition government or a minority government.
With 123 seats, a party, coalition, or minority government with confidence and supply support requires 62 seats for a majority. The last time an overhang this large, three additional seats in Parliament, occurred was in 2008.

Election date and schedule

Unless an early election is called or the election date is set to circumvent holding a by-election, a general election is held every three years. The previous election was held on 17 October 2020.
File:Cindy Kiro signs writ for 2023 general election.jpg|thumb|right|The governor-general, Dame Cindy Kiro, signs the writ for the general election at Government House, Auckland, on 10 September 2023, watched by the chief electoral officer, Karl Le Quesne.
The governor-general must issue writs for an election within seven days of the expiration or dissolution of the current parliament. Under section 17 of the Constitution Act 1986, parliament expires three years "from the day fixed for the return of the writs issued for the last preceding general election of members of the House of Representatives, and no longer." The writs for the 2020 election were returned on 20 November 2020; as a result, the 53rd Parliament had to dissolve no later than 20 November 2023. Writs must be issued within seven days, so the last day for issuance of the writs was 27 November 2023. Writs must be returned within 60 days of their issuance, which would be 26 January 2024. Because polling day must be a Saturday, and ten days is required for the counting of special votes, the latest possible date that this election could have been held is 13 January 2024. However, it was widely accepted by political commentators, news media and the Electoral Commission that the next election would be held in late 2023. News website Stuff, as part of its annual political predictions, predicted that the election would be in November so as not to coincide with the New Zealand co-hosted 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup, which finishes in August, and the 2023 Men's Rugby World Cup, which finishes in October.
On 19 January 2023, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced Saturday 14 October 2023 as the election date. The indicative schedule for the election is as follows:

19 January 2023	Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announces the general election will be held on 14 October.
13 July 2023	Last day to change roll type for Māori voters
14 July 2023	The regulated election advertising period begins.
12 August 2023	Election hoardings may be erected.
8 September 2023	The 53rd Parliament is dissolved.
10 September 2023	Writ day – Governor-General issues formal direction to the Electoral Commission to hold the election. Last day to ordinarily enrol to vote. Official campaigning begins; radio and television advertising begins.
12 September 2023	The Treasury released its pre-election fiscal update.
15 September 2023	Nominations for candidates close at 12:00 noon.
27 September 2023	Overseas voting begins.
2 October 2023	Advance voting begins.
13 October 2023	Advance and overseas voting ends. Last day to enrol to vote. The regulated election advertising period ends; all election advertising must be taken down by midnight.
14 October 2023	Election day – polling places open 9:00 am to 7:00 pm. People may enrol in-person at polling places. Preliminary election results released progressively after 7:00 pm.
3 November 2023	Official election results declared.
9 November 2023	Writ for election returned; official declaration of elected members.

On 30 August 2023, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced in Adelaide that the 2023 Australian Indigenous Voice referendum would be held on 14 October 2023. This means that tens of thousands of New Zealand Australians would be voting in two polls on the same day. Some have suggested that the referendum may have an impact on Māori issues in the New Zealand election. Australia has the largest number of New Zealand expats in the world, with 530,491 New Zealand-born people living in Australia as of the 2021 Australian census, making up 2.1% of Australia's total population.