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The 27th New Zealand Parliament was a term of the Parliament of New Zealand. It was elected at the 1943 general election in September of that year.
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The 1943 general election was held on Friday, 24 September in the Māori electorates and on Saturday, 25 September in the general electorates, respectively.[1] A total of 80 MPs were elected; 48 represented North Island electorates, 28 represented South Island electorates, and the remaining four represented Māori electorates.[2] 1,021,034 civilian voters were enrolled and the official turnout at the election was 82.8%. In addition, 92,934 military votes were cast.[1]
The 27th Parliament sat for five sessions (there were three sessions in 1944), and was prorogued on 4 November 1946.[3]
| Session | Opened | Adjouned |
|---|---|---|
| first | 22 February 1944 | 4 April 1944 |
| second | 26 July 1944 | 25 October 1944 |
| third | 21 November 1944 | 15 December 1944 |
| fourth | 27 June 1945 | 7 December 1945 |
| fifth | 26 June 1946 | 12 October 1946 |
Peter Fraser of the Labour Party had been Prime Minister since 27 March 1940. He had formed the first Fraser Ministry on 1 April 1940 and the second Fraser Ministry on 30 April 1940.[4] The second Fraser Ministry remained in power until its defeat by the National Party at the 1949 election.[5][6]
A War Cabinet had been formed on 16 July 1940, which held the responsibility for all decisions relating to New Zealand's involvement in WWII. The War Cabinet was dissolved on 21 August 1945.[7]