Selwyn by-election 1994

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The Selwyn by-election was a by-election in the New Zealand electorate of Selwyn, a predominantly rural district in the middle of New Zealand's South Island. It took place on 13 August 1994, and was precipitated by the resignation from parliament of siting MP Ruth Richardson. Richardson was retiring from politics, having been removed as Minister of Finance the previous year.

The by-election was contested by all major parties. It was won by David Carter, the National Party candidate, and therefore did not change the distribution of seats in Parliament. In second place, and only around four hundred votes behind Carter, was the Alliance's John Wright, a result that surprised many commentators. National's traditional opponent, the Labour Party, placed a distant third. The fourth major candidate was from the New Zealand First party, Tim Shadbolt, who was actually the mayor of Invercargill at that time.

Candidate Party Votes Percentage
David Carter National Party 8,916 42.32%
John Wright Alliance 8,488 40.34%
Marian Hobbs Labour Party 2,173 10.33%
Tim Shadbolt New Zealand First 1,165 5.54%
Rosemary Francis Christian Heritage Party 182 0.86%
Warren Bryson NORML 39 0.19%
Bruce Annan Kiwis Against Further Immigration 29 0.14%
Tim Owens McGillicuddy Serious Party 26 0.12%
Warwick Jones Natural Law Party 22 0.10%
Kieron Daok NZ Coalition 10 0.05%
Victor Bryer Christ's Ambassadors Union 2 0.01%