1914 New Zealand general election

1914 New Zealand general election

10 & 11 December 1914
All 80 seats in the New Zealand House of Representatives 41 seats were needed for a majority
Turnout	84.7%
First party Second party   Leader William Massey Joseph Ward Party Reform Liberal Leader since 1909 1906 Leader's seat Franklin Awarua Last election 38 seats 36 seats Seats before 41 32 Seats won 40 34 Seat change 1 2 Popular vote 243,122 222,299 Percentage 47.1% 43.1%   Third party Fourth party   Leader Alfred Hindmarsh James McCombs Party United Labour Social Democrat Leader since 1912 Unclear Leader's seat Wellington South Lyttelton Seats before 2 3 Seats won 3 2 Seat change 1 1 Popular vote 22,672 22,500 Percentage 4.24% 4.21%
Prime Minister before election William Massey Reform Prime Minister-designate William Massey Reform

The New Zealand general election of 1914 was held on 10 December to elect a total of 80 MPs to the 19th session of the New Zealand Parliament. The Maori vote was held on 11 December. A total number of 616,043 voters were registered, of which 84.7% voters turned out to vote.

The election saw William Massey's Reform Government maintain power.

The second-ballot voting system had been repealed in 1913, and first-past-the-post voting reinstated for the 1914 election.

Soldiers serving overseas in the NZEF were given a vote by the Expeditionary Forces Voting Act, 1914. They voted for a party (Liberal, Labour or Reform) and their votes were allocated to a candidate for their electorate by a representative of their party; which sometimes required the representative to choose between rival "Liberal" or "Labour" candidates.

Summary of results

Party totals

Election results
Party		Candidates	Total votes	Percentage	Seats won
Template:Meta color	Reform Party	79	243,025	45.47	40
Template:Meta color	Liberal Party	71	227,706	42.61	34
Template:Meta color	United Labour	10	22,672	4.24	3
Template:Meta color	Social Democrat	11	22,500	4.21	2
Template:Meta color	Independents		18,554	3.47	1
Total valid votes			534,457		80
Informal votes			5,618	1.04
Registered voters			616,043
Total candidates		193

• Auckland West, Hawke's Bay, Taumarunui, Wairarapa, Waitaki and Wellington Central were won by the Liberals from Reform
• Chalmers, Dunedin West, Motueka, and Northern Maori were won by Reform from the Liberals
• Nelson was won by Reform from an independent.
• Otaki was won by Reform from the Social Democrats.
• Dunedin North was won by United Labour from Reform
• Four electorates replaced their incumbent MP with another from the same party: Christchurch East and Temuka (Liberal), Eden and Wellington Suburbs and Country (Reform).

Votes summary

Popular Vote Reform   46.90% Liberal   43.10% United Labour   4.24% Social Democrat   4.21% Independents   11.40%

Parliament seats Reform   50.00% Liberal   42.50% United Labour   3.75% Social Democrat   2.50% Independents   1.25%

See also

• Politics of New Zealand
• Elections in New Zealand