2023 New Zealand general election

2023 New Zealand general election

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All 123 seats in the House of Representatives, including three overhang seats.[a] 62 seats needed for a majority
Opinion polls
Turnout	2,884,111 (78.20%; 4.04 pp)
First party Second party Third party   Leader Christopher Luxon Chris Hipkins James Shaw Marama Davidson Party National Labour Green Leader since 30 November 2021 22 January 2023 30 May 2015 8 April 2018 Leader's seat Botany Remutaka List Last election 33 seats, 25.58% 65 seats, 50.01% 10 seats, 7.86% Seats won 48 34 15 Seat change 15 31 5 Electorate vote 1,192,251 43.47% 9.34 pp 855,963 31.21% 16.86 pp 226,575 8.26% 2.52 pp Party vote 1,085,016 38.06% 12.48 pp 767,236 26.91% 23.10 pp 330,883 11.60% 3.76 pp   Fourth party Fifth party Sixth party   Leader David Seymour Winston Peters Debbie Ngarewa-Packer Rawiri Waititi Party ACT NZ First Te Pāti Māori Leader since 4 October 2014 18 July 1993 15 April 2020 28 October 2020 Leader's seat Epsom List Te Tai Hauāuru (won seat) Waiariki Last election 10 seats, 7.59% 0 seats, 2.60% 2 seats, 1.17% Seats won 11 8 6 Seat change 1 8 4 Electorate vote 149,507 5.45% 1.99 pp 76,676 2.80% 1.73 pp 106,584 3.89% 1.73 pp Party vote 246,409 8.64% 1.05 pp 173,425 6.08% 3.48 pp 87,937 3.08% 1.91 pp
Prime Minister before election Chris Hipkins Labour Subsequent Prime Minister Christopher Luxon National

The 2023 New Zealand general election was held on 14 October 2023 to determine the composition of the 54th Parliament of New Zealand. Voters elected 122 members to the unicameral New Zealand House of Representatives under the mixed-member proportional (MMP) voting system, with 71 members elected from single-member electorates and the remaining members elected from closed party lists.^[1] 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.^[b] 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 by-election making for 123 members of parliament.^[2]

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.^[3] 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.^[4] 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.^[5]

Prime Minister Hipkins conceded on election night,^[6] 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.^[7] On 24 November 2023, Luxon announced the formation of a coalition government with ACT and New Zealand First.^[8] 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.^[9]

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