1975 New Zealand general election

1975 New Zealand general election

← 1972 29 November 1975 (1975-11-29) 1978 →

87 seats in the Parliament
44 seats needed for a majority
Turnout1,603,733 (82.11%)
  First party Second party
 
Leader Robert Muldoon Bill Rowling
Party National Labour
Leader since 9 July 1974 6 September 1974
Leader's seat Tamaki Tasman
Last election 32 seats, 41.5% 55 seats, 48.4%
Seats won 55 32
Seat change Increase 23 Decrease 23
Popular vote 763,136 634,453
Percentage 47.6% 39.6%
Swing Increase 6.1% Decrease 8.8%

Results by electorate, shaded by winning margin

Prime Minister before election

Bill Rowling
Labour

Subsequent Prime Minister

Robert Muldoon
National

The 1975 New Zealand general election was held on 29 November to elect MPs to the 38th session of the New Zealand Parliament. It was the first general election in New Zealand where 18- to 20-year-olds[1] and all permanent residents of New Zealand were eligible to vote, although only citizens were able to be elected.

The National Party, led by Rob Muldoon, won 55 of the 87 seats over the Labour Party, led by Bill Rowling, in a landslide. The election saw the defeat of the Third Labour Government after only three years in office and the formation of the Third National Government. As of 2023, this is the most recent election where a government was voted out after one term.