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All 80 seats in the New Zealand Parliament 41 seats were needed for a majority | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Turnout | 1,113,852 (96.3%) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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 Results of the election. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The 1949 New Zealand general election was a nationwide vote to determine the shape of the New Zealand Parliament's 29th term. It saw the governing Labour Party defeated by the opposition National Party. This marked the end of the 14-year First Labour government and the beginning of the First National government.
The Labour Party had formed its first ministry after winning the 1935 election, and had remained in power (with gradually decreasing majorities) since then. The National Party, formed by a merger of the parties which Labour had originally ousted, gradually increased its power in Parliament; the ineffectual Adam Hamilton was replaced by Sidney Holland, and internal disputes were gradually resolved. The Prime Minister, Peter Fraser, was increasingly weary. Ongoing shortages after World War II also eroded public support for the government. The National Party's decision not to repeal Labour's social welfare policies also increased its appeal.
Two Labour MPs and one National MP intended to retire at the end of the Parliament.
| Party | Name | Electorate | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | David Coleman | Gisborne | |
| Charles Petrie | Otahuhu | ||
| National | Garnet Mackley | Wairarapa | |
The date for the main elections was a Wednesday 30 November. Elections to the four Māori electorates were held the day before—the 1949 elections were the last in which Māori voted on a different day. 1,113,852 people were registered to vote, although rolls for the Māori electorates were "woefully inadequate." Voter turnout for the elections is disputed, given the problems with the Māori roll—some sources place it at 93.5 percent, while others estimate 92.9 percent. Regardless, the turnout was relatively high for the time. The number of seats being contested was 80, a number which had been fixed since 1902.
The 1949 election saw the governing Labour Party defeated by a twelve-seat margin. It has previously held a four-seat majority. Labour won a total of 34 seats, as opposed to National's 46. The popular vote was considerably closer—Labour won 47.2 percent to National's 51.9 percent. No seats were won by minor party candidates or by independents.
John A. Lee stood for Grey Lynn as the sole Democratic Labour candidate and got 2,627 votes, coming third.
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| Election results | ||||||
| Party | Candidates | Total votes | Percentage | Seats won | change | |
| National | 80 | 556,805 | 51.88 | 46 | +8 | |
| Labour | 80 | 506,073 | 47.16 | 34 | −8 | |
| Communist | 16 | 3,499 | 0.33 | 0 | ±0 | |
| Democratic Labour | 1 | 2,627 | 0.24 | 0 | ±0 | |
| Others | 19 | 4,150 | 0.39 | 0 | ±0 | |
| Total | 196 | 1,073,154 | 80 | |||
The table below shows the results of the 1949 general election:
Key
Table footnotes:
The 1972 New Zealand general election was held on 25 November to elect MPs to the 37th session of the New Zealand Parliament. The Labour Party, led by Norman Kirk, defeated the governing National Party.
The 1969 New Zealand general election was a nationwide vote to determine the shape of Parliament's 36th term. It saw the Second National Government headed by Prime Minister Keith Holyoake of the National Party win a fourth consecutive term. This is the most recent election where an incumbent government won a fourth term in office.
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 1946 New Zealand general election was a nationwide vote to determine the shape of the New Zealand Parliament's 28th term. It saw the governing Labour Party re-elected, but by a substantially narrower margin than in the three previous elections. The National Party continued its gradual rise.
The 1954 New Zealand general election was a nationwide vote to determine the shape of the New Zealand Parliament's 31st term. It saw the governing National Party remain in office, but with a slightly reduced majority. It also saw the debut of the new Social Credit Party, which won more than eleven percent of the vote but failed to win a seat.
The 1957 New Zealand general election was a nationwide vote to determine the shape of the New Zealand Parliament's 32nd term. It saw the governing National Party narrowly defeated by the Labour Party. The 1957 elections marked the beginning of the second Labour government, although this administration was to last only a single term.
The 1963 New Zealand general election was a nationwide vote to determine the shape of New Zealand Parliament's 34th term. The results were almost identical to those of the previous election, and the governing National Party remained in office.
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.
The 29th New Zealand Parliament was a term of the Parliament of New Zealand. It opened in 1950, following the 1949 general election. It was dissolved in 1951 in preparation for the 1951 general election. The governing Labour Party had been defeated in the election by the National Party. This marked the end of the First Labour government and the beginning of the First National government.
The 28th New Zealand Parliament was a term of the New Zealand Parliament. It was elected at the 1946 general election in November of that year.
The 30th New Zealand Parliament was a term of the New Zealand Parliament. It was elected at the 1951 general election on 1 September of that year.
The 31st New Zealand Parliament was a term of the New Zealand Parliament. It was elected at the 1954 general election on 13 November of that year.
The 32nd New Zealand Parliament was a term of the New Zealand Parliament. It was elected at the 1957 general election on 30 November of that year.
The 33rd New Zealand Parliament was a term of the New Zealand Parliament. It was elected at the 1960 general election on 26 November of that year.
The 34th New Zealand Parliament was a term of the New Zealand Parliament. It was elected at the 1963 general election on 30 November of that year.
The 35th New Zealand Parliament was a term of the New Zealand Parliament. It was elected at the 1966 general election on 26 November of that year.
The 36th New Zealand Parliament was a term of the New Zealand Parliament. It was elected at the 1969 general election on 29 November of that year.
The 38th New Zealand Parliament was a term of the New Zealand Parliament. It was elected at the 1975 general election on 29 November of that year.
The 37th New Zealand Parliament was a term of the New Zealand Parliament. It was elected at the 1972 general election on 25 November of that year.
The Northern Maori by-election of 1963 was a by-election for the electorate of Northern Maori on 16 March 1963 during the 33rd New Zealand Parliament. The by-election resulted from the death of the previous member Tapihana Paikea on 7 January 1963. It was held the same day as the Otahuhu by-election.
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