New Zealand general election, 1908

New Zealand general election, 1908

17 November to 2 December 1908

All 80 seats in the New Zealand House of Representatives 41 seats were needed for a majority Turnout 79.8%   First party Second party Third party   Leader Joseph Ward William Massey David McLaren Party Liberal Conservative Ind. Labour League Leader since 1906 1903 1908 Leader's seat Awarua Franklin Wellington East Last election 58 seats 16 seats 0 seats Seats won 50 26 1 Seat change 8 10 1 Popular vote 315,220 149,286 16,974 Percentage 58.7% 27.8% 3.1% Swing 5.6% 1.9% 2.3%

Prime Minister before election Joseph Ward Liberal Prime Minister-designate Joseph Ward Liberal

The New Zealand general election of 1908 was held on Tuesday, 17 November, 24 November and 1 December in the general electorates, and on Wednesday, 2 December in the Māori electorates to elect a total of 80 MPs to the 17th session of the New Zealand Parliament. A total number of 537,003 (79.8%) voters turned out to vote.^[1]

Changes to the electoral law

The Second Ballot Act 1908 provided for second or runoff ballots between the top two candidates where the top candidate did not get an absolute majority. The second ballot was held seven days after the first ballot except in ten large rural seats, where fourteen days were allowed. In 1908, 22 second ballots were held on 24 November and one (Bay of Plenty) on 1 December. At the 1911 election, all 30 second ballots were held seven days later.^[2] Two 1909 by-elections (in Rangitikei and Thames) also required second ballots.

The Second Ballot Act of 1908, which did not apply to the Maori electorates, was repealed in 1913.

Summary of results

Party totals

The following table gives party strengths and vote distribution.^[3]

Votes summary

Electorate results

The following are the results of the 1908 general election:

Key

  Liberal     Conservative     Ind. Labour League     Independent Liberal     Liberal-Labour     Independent  

Table footnotes:

Summary of changes

• A boundary redistribution resulted in the abolition of seven seats:
  • Caversham, held by Thomas Sidey
  • Courtenay, held by Charles Lewis
  • Hawera, held by Charles E. Major
  • Mount Ida, held by John MacPherson
  • Newtown, held by William Barber
  • Waiapu, held by James Carroll
  • Waikouaiti, held by Thomas Mackenzie
• At the same time, seven new seats came into being:
  • Dunedin West
  • Gisborne
  • Stratford
  • Taumarunui
  • Tauranga
  • Wellington South
  • Wellington Suburbs

References

Elections and referendums in New Zealand
General elections	1853 1855 1860–61 1866 1871 1875–76 1879 1881 1884 1887 1890 1893 1896 1899 1902 1905 1908 1911 1914 1919 1922 1925 1928 1931 1935 1938 1943 1946 1949 1951 1954 1957 1960 1963 1966 1969 1972 1975 1978 1981 1984 1987 1990 1993 1996 1999 2002 2005 2008 2011 2014 Next
Local elections	2004 2007 2010 2013 2016 2019
Referendums	Parliament initiated Alcohol licensing, 1894–1987 Gambling, 1949 Military training, 1949 Sale of Liquor, 1949 Parliamentary term, 1967 Sale of Liquor, 1967 Parliamentary term, 1990 Voting system, 1992 Voting system, 1993 Pensions, 1997 Voting system, 2011 Flag, 2015–16 Citizens initiated Firefighters, 1995 Justice, 1999 MP reduction, 1999 Smacking, 2009 Asset sales, 2013
By-elections Supplementary elections