The 1978 New Zealand general election was a nationwide vote to elect the 39th New Zealand Parliament. It saw the governing National Party, led by Robert Muldoon, retain office, although the opposition Labour Party managed to win the largest share of the vote. The 39th New Zealand Parliament was a term of the New Zealand which began with the election of 1978 and finished with the election of 1981. ... The New Zealand National Party (National or the Nats) currently forms the second-largest (in terms of seats) political party represented in the New Zealand Parliament, and thus functions as the core of the parliamentary Opposition. ... The Right Honourable Sir Robert David (Rob) Muldoon GCMG CH (25 September 1921–5 August 1992) served as Prime Minister of New Zealand from 1975 to 1984. ... The New Zealand Labour Party is a New Zealand political party. ...

 

New Zealand elections
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  Members of New Zealands House of Representatives, commonly called Parliament, normally gain their seats in nationwide general elections, or (less frequently) in by-elections. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_New_Zealand. ... The 1853 New Zealand general election was a nationwide vote to determine the shape of the New Zealand Parliaments 1st term. ... The 1855 New Zealand general election was a nationwide vote to determine the shape of the New Zealand Parliaments 2nd term. ... The New Zealand general election of 1860 was held between December 12 and March 28 to elect 53 MPs to the third session of the New Zealand Parliament. ... The New Zealand general election of 1866 was held between February 12 and April 6 to elect 70 MPs to the fourth session of the New Zealand Parliament. ... The New Zealand general election of 1871 was held between January 14 and February 1 to elect 78 MPs to the fifth session of the New Zealand Parliament. ... The New Zealand general election of 1875 was held between December 29 and January 4 (1876) to elect a total of 88 MPs to the 6th session of the New Zealand Parliament. ... The New Zealand general election of 1879 was held between August 15 and September 1 to elect a total of 88 MPs to the 7th session of the New Zealand Parliament. ... The New Zealand general election of 1881 was held December 9 to elect a total of 95 MPs to the 8th session of the New Zealand Parliament. ... The New Zealand general election of 1884 was held July 22 to elect a total of 95 MPs to the 9th session of the New Zealand Parliament. ... The New Zealand general election of 1887 was held July 22 to elect 95 MPs to the ninth session of the New Zealand Parliament. ... The New Zealand general election of 1890 was held on December 5 to elect 74 MPs to the 11th session of the New Zealand Parliament. ... The New Zealand general election of 1893 was held November 28 to elect a total of 74 MPs to the 12th session of the New Zealand Parliament. ... The New Zealand general election of 1896 was held December 4 to elect a total of 74 MPs to the 13th session of the New Zealand Parliament. ... The New Zealand general election of 1899 was held December 6 to elect a total of 80 MPs to the 14th session of the New Zealand Parliament. ... The New Zealand general election of 1902 was held November 25 to elect a total of 80 MPs to the 15th session of the New Zealand Parliament. ... The New Zealand general election of 1905 was held December 6 to elect a total of 80 MPs to the 16th session of the New Zealand Parliament. ... The New Zealand general election of 1908 was held November 17, November 24 and December 1 to elect a total of 80 MPs to the 17th session of the New Zealand Parliament. ... The New Zealand general election of 1911 was held December 7 and December 14 to elect a total of 80 MPs to the 18th session of the New Zealand Parliament. ... The New Zealand general election of 1914 was held December 10 to elect a total of 80 MPs to the 19th session of the New Zealand Parliament. ... The New Zealand general election of 1919 was held December 17 to elect a total of 80 MPs to the 20th session of the New Zealand Parliament. ... The New Zealand general election of 1922 was held December 7 to elect a total of 80 MPs to the 21st session of the New Zealand Parliament. ... The New Zealand general election of 1925 was held November 4 to elect a total of 80 MPs to the 22nd session of the New Zealand Parliament. ... The New Zealand general election of 1928 was held on November 14 to elect 80 MPs to the 23rd session of the New Zealand Parliament. ... The 1931 New Zealand general election was a nationwide vote to determine the shape of the New Zealand Parliaments 24th term. ... The 1935 New Zealand general election was a nationwide vote to determine the shape of the New Zealand Parliaments 25th term. ... The 1938 New Zealand general election was a nationwide vote to determine the shape of the New Zealand Parliaments 26th term. ... The 1943 New Zealand general election was a nationwide vote to determine the shape of the New Zealand Parliaments 27th term. ... The 1946 New Zealand general election was a nationwide vote to determine the shape of the New Zealand Parliaments 28th term. ... The 1949 New Zealand general election was a nationwide vote to determine the shape of the New Zealand Parliaments 29th term. ... The 1951 New Zealand general election was a nationwide vote to determine the shape of the New Zealand Parliaments 30th term. ... The 1954 New Zealand general election was a nationwide vote to determine the shape of the New Zealand Parliaments 31st term. ... The 1957 New Zealand general election was a nationwide vote to determine the shape of the New Zealand Parliaments 32nd term. ... The 1960 New Zealand general election was a nationwide vote to determine the shape of the New Zealand Parliaments 33rd term. ... The 1963 New Zealand general election was a nationwide vote to determine the shape of the New Zealand Parliaments 34th term. ... The 1966 New Zealand general election was a nationwide vote to determine the shape of the New Zealand Parliaments 35th term. ... The final results of the New Zealand General Election 1969 were 45 seats won by the National Party, and 39 seats won by the Labour Party, with no minor parties winning any seats. ... The New Zealand general election of 1972 was held to elect MPs to the 37th session of the New Zealand Parliament. ... The 1975 New Zealand general election was held to elect MPs to the 38th session of the New Zealand Parliament. ... Until 1996, New Zealand used the British system of first past the post (FPP) for parliamentary elections . ... The 1999 New Zealand general election was a nationwide vote to determine the shape of the 46th session of the New Zealand Parliament. ... The 2002 New Zealand general election was a nationwide vote to determine the shape of the 47th New Zealand Parliament. ... Wikinews has news related to: Results of the 2005 New Zealand General Election The 2005 New Zealand general election took place on 17 September 2005 and determined the composition of the 48th New Zealand Parliament. ...

Background

The National Party had won a resounding victory in the 1975 elections, taking fifty-five of the eighty-seven seats and ousting the Labour Party from government. Labour had been led by Bill Rowling, who had assumed the post of Prime Minister on the death in office of the popular Norman Kirk. Labour won the remaining thirty-two seats in that election, with no other parties gaining entry to Parliament. The New Zealand National Party (National or the Nats) currently forms the second-largest (in terms of seats) political party represented in the New Zealand Parliament, and thus functions as the core of the parliamentary Opposition. ... The 1975 New Zealand general election was the first election in New Zealand where all permanent residents of New Zealand were eligible to vote, although only citizens were able to be elected. ... The New Zealand Labour Party is a New Zealand political party. ... Sir Wallace Edward Rowling KCMG, (15 November 1927 - 31 October 1995), often known as Bill Rowling, was a Prime Minister of New Zealand. ... The Prime Minister of New Zealand is New Zealands head of government and is the leader of the party or coalition with majority support in the Parliament of New Zealand. ... Norman Eric Kirk served as Prime Minister of New Zealand from 1972 until his sudden death in 1974 and led the New Zealand Labour Party from 1965 to 1972. ...

Labour's Rowling had been criticised by many for inadequately countering Muldoon's confrontational style, and was widely perceived as "weak". Following Labour's defeat, there had been speculation about replacing Rowling as leader of the party, but Rowling managed to retain his position. Gradually, as some people wearied of Muldoon's style, Rowling's more reserved manner was held up as an asset rather than a weakness, and Labour began to gain a certain amount of traction again. Muldoon remained a powerful opponent, however, and was regarded as a strong campaigner.

Not long before the 1978 election, a by-election in Rangitikei caused considerable comment when it introduced a third party to Parliament: Bruce Beetham, leader of the Social Credit Party. Although other parties dismissed Social Credit's success as a fluke, Beetham predicted a great future for the party. Bruce Craig Beetham (1936-1997) was an academic and politician from New Zealand, whose career spanned the 1970s and early 1980s. ... One of the several logos used during the history of the Social Credit Party The New Zealand Social Credit Party (sometimes called Socred) was a political party which served as the countrys third party from the 1950s through into the 1980s. ...

The election

The election was held on the 25th of November. 2,487,594 people were officially registered to vote in the elections, making the election the first one in which there were more than two million registered voters. However, the electoral roll in 1978 was significantly out of date, and contained numerous duplicate entries. The cause of this confusion was a major redistribution of electoral boundaries which had been implemented the year before. The actual number of potential voters is estimated to have been about 2,100,000, and actual turnout is estimated to have been about 80% (as compared to the official turnout of only 69.2%). A 80% would have been slightly lower than the turnout for the previous election.

Summary of results

The 1978 election saw the National Party win fifty-one seats in parliament, a majority of several seats. This allowed it to retain power. The Labour Party won forty seats. The Social Credit Party retained the Rangitikei seat, which it had won in a by-election shortly before the election. No other parties won seats, and there were no successful independent candidates.

While National won a majority of seats in parliament, it did not actually win a majority of the vote. Labour received the highest number of votes, winning slightly more than forty percent. National, by contrast, won slightly less than forty percent. Social Credit, despite winning only one seat, actually received around sixteen percent of the vote.

Detailed results

Table

The New Zealand National Party (National or the Nats) currently forms the second-largest (in terms of seats) political party represented in the New Zealand Parliament, and thus functions as the core of the parliamentary Opposition. ... The New Zealand Labour Party is a New Zealand political party. ... One of the several logos used during the history of the Social Credit Party The New Zealand Social Credit Party (sometimes called Socred) was a political party which served as the countrys third party from the 1950s through into the 1980s. ... A logo used by the Values Party The Values Party, sometimes considered the worlds first national-level environmentalist party, was established in 1972 at Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand. ...

Map

Summary of changes

For details about the winners of each individual electorate, see the article on the 39th Parliament. The 39th New Zealand Parliament was a term of the New Zealand which began with the election of 1978 and finished with the election of 1981. ...

• Electoral redistributions:
  • A major reconfiguration of electorates and their boundaries occurred in 1977. This resulted in twenty-two electorates being dissolved and twenty-five new electorates being formed (a net gain of five electorates).
  • The seats of Bay of Plenty, Coromandel, Egmont, Franklin, Grey Lynn, Henderson, Hobson, Hutt, Karori, Manukau, Oamaru, Petone, Piako, Rakaia, Riccarton, Rodney, Ruahine, South Canterbury, Stratford, Waitemata, and Wigram ceased to exist.
  • The seats of Albany, Ashburton, Bay of Islands, East Cape, Eastern Hutt, Helensville, Horowhenua, Hunua, Kaimai, Kaipara, Matamata, Ohariu, Papakura, Papatoetoe, Pencarrow, Rangiriri, Selwyn, Taranaki, Tarewera, Te Atatu, Waipa, Waitakere, Waitaki, Waitotara, and Yaldhurst came into being.
• Seats captured:
  • By Labour: Hastings, Lyttelton, Manurewa, Palmerston North, Papanui, Taupo, and Western Hutt were captured from National.
  • By National: None
  • By Social Credit: None
• Seats transferred from departing MPs to new MPs:
  • The seats of Clutha, Manawatu, Marlborough, Pakuranga, and Rotorua, all held by departing National MPs, were successfully won by new National candidates.
  • The seats of Dunedin North, Island Bay, St Albans, and West Coast, all held by departing Labour MPs, were successfully won by new Labour candidates.