1908 New Zealand general election

1908 New Zealand general election

← 1905 17 November to 2 December 1908 1911 →
← outgoing members elected members →
All 80 seats in the New Zealand House of Representatives 41 seats were needed for a majority
Turnout	79.8%
First party Second party Third party   Leader Joseph Ward William Massey David McLaren Party Liberal Conservative Ind. Labour League Leader since 6 August 1906 11 September 1903 1908 Leader's seat Awarua Franklin Wellington East Last election 58 seats 16 seats 0 seats Seats won 50 26 1 Seat change 8 10 1 Popular vote 315,220 149,286 16,974 Percentage 58.7% 27.8% 3.1% Swing 5.6% 1.9% 2.3%
Results of the election.
Prime Minister before election Joseph Ward Liberal Subsequent Prime Minister Joseph Ward Liberal

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 Māori 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]

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The Second Ballot Act of 1908, which did not apply to the Maori electorates, was repealed in 1913.

The following table gives party strengths and vote distribution.^[3]

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

The following are the results of the 1908 general election:

Key

  Liberal   Conservative   Ind. Labour League   Independent Liberal   Liberal–Labour   Independent

Table footnotes:

• 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:
  • Dunedin West
  • Gisborne
  • Stratford
  • Taumarunui
  • Tauranga
  • Wellington South
  • Wellington Suburbs

• Wilson, James Oakley (1985) [First published in 1913]. New Zealand Parliamentary Record, 1840–1984 (4th ed.). Wellington: V.R. Ward, Govt. Printer. OCLC 154283103.