1908 New Zealand general election
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The 1908 New Zealand general election was held on Tuesday, 17 and 24 November and 1 December in the general electorates, and on Wednesday, 2 December in the MÄori electorates to elect a total of 80 MPs to the 17th session of the New Zealand Parliament. A total number of 537,003 (79.8%) voters turned out to vote.[1]
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17 November to 2 December 1908
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All 80 seats in the New Zealand House of Representatives 41 seats were needed for a majority | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Turnout | 79.8% | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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 Results of the election. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Changes to the electoral law
The Second Ballot Act 1908 provided for second or runoff ballots between the top two candidates where the top candidate did not get an absolute majority. The second ballot was held 7 days after the first ballot except in 10 large rural seats, where 14 days were allowed. In 1908, 22 second ballots were held on 24 November and 1 (Bay of Plenty) on 1 December. At the 1911 election, all 30 second ballots were held 7 days later.[2] Two 1909 by-elections (in Rangitikei and Thames) also required second ballots.
The Second Ballot Act of 1908, which did not apply to the Maori electorates, was repealed in 1913.
Results
Party totals
The following table gives party strengths and vote distribution.[3]
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| Election results | ||||||
| Party | Candidates | Total votes | Percentage | Seats won | Change | |
| Liberal | 108 | 315,220 | 58.7 | 50 | -8 | |
| Conservative | 53 | 149,286 | 27.8 | 26 | +10 | |
| Ind. Labour League | 11 | 16,974 | 3.1 | 1 | +1 | |
| Socialist | 5 | 2,521 | 0.6 | 0 | ±0 | |
| Independent | 45 | 50,478 | 9.4 | 3 | -1 | |
Votes summary
Electorate results
The following are the results of the 1908 general election:
Key
Liberal Conservative Ind. Labour League Independent Liberal LiberalâLabour Independent
Table footnotes:
- â in Majority column depicts electorates in which a second ballot was held.
- Harry Ell was previously associated with the Liberal Party.
- For some biographical details of James Kerr refer to his father's article
- The affiliation of many of the MÄori candidates is unknown or uncertain; note that the Second Ballot Act 1908 did not apply to MÄori constituencies.
Summary of changes
- A boundary redistribution resulted in the abolition of seven seats:
- Caversham, held by Thomas Sidey
- Courtenay, held by Charles Lewis
- Hawera, held by Charles E. Major
- Mount Ida, held by John MacPherson
- Newtown, held by William Barber
- Waiapu, held by James Carroll
- Waikouaiti, held by Thomas Mackenzie
- At the same time, seven new seats came into being: