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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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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The Second Ballot Act of 1908, which did not apply to the Maori electorates, was repealed in 1913.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]
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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 | |
The following are the results of the 1908 general election:
Key
Liberal Conservative Ind. Labour League Independent Liberal Liberal–Labour Independent
Table footnotes:
In New Zealand politics, Māori electorates, colloquially known as the Māori seats, are a special category of electorate that give reserved positions to representatives of Māori in the New Zealand Parliament. Every area in New Zealand is covered by both a general and a Māori electorate; as of 2020, there are seven Māori electorates. Since 1967, candidates in Māori electorates have not needed to be Māori themselves, but to register as a voter in the Māori electorates people need to declare that they are of Māori descent.
The 1938 New Zealand general election was a nationwide vote to determine the shape of the New Zealand Parliament's 26th term. It resulted in the governing Labour Party being re-elected in a landslide, winning nearly 56% of the vote despite not gaining any more seats. Having replaced the United-Reform coalition, the newly founded National Party also gained a certain amount of ground.
The 1902 New Zealand general election was held on Tuesday, 25 November, in the general electorates, and on Monday, 22 December in the Māori electorates to elect a total of 80 MPs to the 15th session of the New Zealand Parliament. A total number of 415,789 (76.7%) voters turned out to vote.
The 1905 New Zealand general election was held on Wednesday, 6 December in the general electorates, and on Wednesday, 20 December in the Māori electorates to elect a total of 80 MPs to the 16th session of the New Zealand Parliament. A total number of 412,702 voters turned out, with 396,657 voting in the European electorates.
The 1911 New Zealand general election was held on Thursday, 7 and 14 December in the general electorates, and on Tuesday, 19 December in the Māori electorates to elect a total of 80 MPs to the 18th session of the New Zealand Parliament. A total number of 590,042 (83.5%) voters turned out to vote. In two seats there was only one candidate.
Christchurch East, originally called Christchurch City East, is a current New Zealand parliamentary electorate. It was first created for the 1871 election and was abolished for two periods, from 1875–1905 and again from 1946–1996. It was last created for the introduction of the MMP voting system for the 1996 election. The current MP is Reuben Davidson, a member of the New Zealand Labour Party who was first elected in the 2023 New Zealand general election.
Sir John George Findlay was a New Zealand politician of the Liberal Party, and was a Cabinet minister from 1906 to 1911.
Waimarino was a New Zealand parliamentary electorate that existed from 1911 to 1954, and from 1963 to 1972. It was rural in nature and was represented by four Members of Parliament.
Avon is a former New Zealand parliamentary electorate. It was created for the 1861 general election and existed until 1996. It was represented by 13 Members of Parliament and was held by Independents, Liberal Party or Labour Party representatives.
Southern Maori was one of New Zealand's four original parliamentary Māori electorates established in 1868, along with Eastern Maori, Western Maori and Eastern Maori. In 1996, with the introduction of MMP, the Maori electorates were updated, and Southern Maori was replaced with the Te Tai Tonga and Te Puku O Te Whenua electorates.
Western Maori was one of New Zealand's four original parliamentary Māori electorates established in 1868, along with Northern Maori, Eastern Maori and Southern Maori. In 1996, with the introduction of MMP, the Maori electorates were updated, and Western Maori was replaced with the Te Tai Hauāuru and Te Puku O Te Whenua electorates.
Northern Maori was one of New Zealand's four original parliamentary Māori electorates established in 1868, along with Eastern Maori, Western Maori and Southern Maori. In 1996, with the introduction of MMP, the Maori electorates were updated, and Northern Maori was replaced with the Te Tai Tokerau electorate.
Hurunui was a parliamentary electorate in the Canterbury region of New Zealand, from 1902 to 1963.
Waipawa was a parliamentary electorate in the Hawke's Bay Region of New Zealand, from 1881 to 1946.
David Jones was a Reform Party Member of Parliament in the Canterbury region of New Zealand. In September 1931, he was appointed Minister of Agriculture and Minister of Mines in the United–Reform Coalition Government, but he was unexpectedly defeated in the December 1931 general election. He was a farmer and involved with many farming organisations, and was instrumental in forming the New Zealand Farmers Union, which eventually developed into Federated Farmers. Outside parliament, he was best known for his involvement with the New Zealand Meat Producers Board, of which he was the inaugural chairman, and which he chaired for more than a decade.
Frank Franklin Hockly was a Reform Party Member of Parliament in New Zealand.
The 17th New Zealand Parliament was a term of the New Zealand Parliament. It was elected at the 1908 general election in November and December of that year.
The 18th New Zealand Parliament was a term of the New Zealand Parliament. It was elected at the 1911 general election in December of that year.
The Second Ballot Act 1908 was an Act of the New Zealand Parliament for regulating elections to the New Zealand House of Representatives. The Act implemented the two-round voting system to ensure that Members of Parliament were elected by a majority, not a simple plurality like the first-past-the-post voting system that had been used since the 1853 New Zealand general election.
The 1909 Rangitikei by-election was a by-election held during the 17th New Zealand Parliament in the Rangitikei electorate of the North Island. This was the sixth by-election since the Rangitikei electorate was established for the 1861 election. The previous by-election took place in 1892 and the following one took place in 1978. The Second Ballot Act 1908 was in force and in the first ballot, and Frank Hockly of the opposition Reform Party won the first ballot, but Robert William Smith of the governing Liberal Party was ultimately chosen in the second ballot.
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