The 1853 New Zealand general election was a nationwide vote to determine the shape of the New Zealand Parliament's 1st term. It was the first national election ever held in New Zealand, although Parliament did not yet have full authority to govern the country. The New Zealand Parliament is the legislative body of the New Zealand government. ... The 1st New Zealand Parliament was a term of the New Zealand. ...

 

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. ... Download high resolution version (1600x800, 12 KB) Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... 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 a total of 53 MPs to the 3rd session of the New Zealand Parliament. ... The New Zealand general election of 1866 was held between February 12 and April 6 to elect a total of 70 MPs to the 4th session of the New Zealand Parliament. ... The New Zealand general election of 1871 was held between January 14 and February 1 to elect a total of 78 MPs to the 5th 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 a total of 95 MPs to the 9th session of the New Zealand Parliament. ... The New Zealand general election of 1890 was held December 5 to elect a total of 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 20h 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 1925 was held November 14 to elect a total of 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 final results of the New Zealand General Election 1972 were 55 seats won by the Labour party (led by Norman Kirk) and 32 seats won by the National Party, with no minor parties winning any seats. ... 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 1978 New Zealand general election was a nationwide vote to elect the 39th New Zealand Parliament. ... The 1981 New Zealand general election was a nationwide vote to determine the shape of the New Zealand Parliament. ... The 1984 New Zealand general election was a nationwide vote to determine the shape of the New Zealand Parliament. ... The 1987 New Zealand general election was a nationwide vote to determine the shape of the New Zealand Parliament. ... The 1990 New Zealand general election was a nationwide vote to determine the shape of the New Zealand Parliaments 43rd term. ... The 1993 New Zealand general election was a nationwide vote to determine the shape of the New Zealand Parliament. ... The 1996 New Zealand general election was a nationwide vote to determine the shape of the New Zealand Parliament. ... 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. ... The 2005 New Zealand general election took place on 17 September 2005. ...

Background

The New Zealand Constitution Act 1852, passed by the Parliament of the United Kingdom, established a bicameral New Zealand Parliament, with the lower house (the House of Representatives) being elected by popular vote. Votes were to be cast under a simple FPP system, and the secret ballot had not yet been introduced. To qualify as a voter, one needed to be male, to be a British subject, to be at least 21 years old, to own a certain value of land, and to not be serving a criminal sentence. The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative institution in the United Kingdom and British overseas territories (it alone has parliamentary sovereignty). ... In government, bicameralism is the practice of having two legislative or parliamentary chambers. ... A lower house (sometimes known as the first chamber) is one of two chambers of a bicameral legislature, the other chamber being the upper house. ... The First Past the Post electoral system, is a voting system for single-member districts. ... The Polling by William Hogarth (1755); Before the secret ballot was introduced voter intimidation was commonplace The secret ballot is a process in elections where the choice of the voters is kept confidential. ...

At the time of the 1853 elections, there were no political parties in New Zealand. As such, all candidates were independents.

The election

In the 1853 elections, election day was different in each seat. The first seat to be elected was Bay of Islands on 14 July, and the final election day was on 1 October. 5,849 people were registered to vote. The number of electoral districts was 24, although some districts elected multiple MPs. The total number of seats was 37. Some parts of the country were not part of any district, and did not have representation in Parliament.

Results

Image File history File links Download high resolution version (596x604, 21 KB)Map identifying New Zealand electorates in 1853. ...