1978 New Zealand general election

1978 New Zealand general election
← 1975 25 November 1978 (1978-11-25) 1981 →
92 seats in the Parliament
47 seats needed for a majority
  First party Second party Third party
 
Leader Robert Muldoon Bill Rowling Bruce Beetham
Party National Labour Social Credit
Leader since 9 July 1974 6 September 1974 14 May 1972
Leader's seat Tamaki Tasman Rangitīkei
Last election 55 seats, 47.6% 32 seats, 39.6% 0 seats, 7.4%
Seats before 54 32 1
Seats won 51 40 1
Seat change Decrease 3 Increase 8 Steady
Popular vote 680,991 691,076 274,756
Percentage 39.8% 40.4% 16.1%
Swing Decrease 7.8% Increase 0.8% Increase 8.7%
Results by electorate, shaded by winning margin
Prime Minister before election

Robert Muldoon
National

Subsequent Prime Minister

Robert Muldoon
National

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The 1978 New Zealand general election was a nationwide vote to elect the 39th New Zealand Parliament. It saw the governing National Party, led by Robert Muldoon, retain office, but the opposition Labour Party won the largest share of the vote. Reorganisation of the enrolment system caused major problems with the electoral rolls, which left a legacy of unreliable information about voting levels in this election.