51st New Zealand Parliament

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The 51st New Zealand Parliament was elected at the 2014 general election. Although special votes are yet to be counted, it is expected that this Parliament will consist of 121 members (120 seats plus one overhang seat) and will be in place from September 2014 until the next New Zealand general election (most likely in 2017). Based on preliminary results, John Key will continue to lead the Fifth National Government.

The Parliament was elected using the mixed-member proportional representation (MMP) voting system. Members of Parliament (MPs) represent 71 geographical electorates: 16 in the South Island, 48 in the North Island and 7 Māori electorates. The remaining members were elected from party lists using the Sainte-Laguë method to realise proportionality. The number of geographical electorates was increased from 70 at the previous election, to account for New Zealand's increasing population.^[1]

Electorate boundaries for 51st Parliament

Electoral boundaries with results

The Representation Commission is tasked with reviewing electorate boundaries every five years following each New Zealand census.^[2] The last review was undertaken in 2007 following the 2006 census, and the electorate boundaries determined then were used in both the 2008 and 2011 general elections.^[3]

The next census was scheduled for 8 March 2011, but it was postponed due to the disruption caused by 22 February 2011 Christchurch earthquake.^[4] The new date for the census is 5 March 2013,^[5] and if the next general election will be held towards the end of 2014 as per the normal three-yearly election cycle, this should leave enough time to review the electoral boundaries for the 51st Parliament.

The boundaries were redrawn based on population distribution and the Māori electoral option, where people of Māori descent can opt to be either on the general or the Māori roll.^[6] By law, the South Island must have 16 general electorates, with the number of North Island general and Māori electorates being the respective population in each group divided by one-sixteenth of the South Island general electorate population, within a tolerance of five percent. At the 2011 election, there were 47 North Island general electorates and seven Māori electorates, totalling 70 electorates across the country.^[1]

Following significant consultation final boundaries were released by the Representation Commission on 17 April 2014. The 2014 General Election will be conducted under these boundaries on 20 September 2014. The increase in population in the Auckland region as recorded in the 2013 census meant an extra electorate was required to keep all electorates within five percent of their quota. To accommodate an extra electorate the Electoral Commission proposed major changes in west Auckland by abolishing the Waitakere electorate and establishing two new electorates, namely Kelston and Upper Harbour. Boundaries within Christchurch changed substantially, with several electorates growing and decreasing due to population movement around the city since the 2010–11 Christchurch earthquakes. In particular a dramatic change was seen in the seats of Christchurch East, Christchurch Central and Port Hills.^[7]

2014 general election

See also

• Opinion polling for the next New Zealand general election
• Politics of New Zealand

References