1986 Christchurch mayoral election

1986 Christchurch mayoral election

←  1983 11 October 1986 1989  →
Turnout	64,376
Candidate Hamish Hay Alex Clark Party Citizens' Labour Popular vote 39,239 22,918 Percentage 60.95 35.60
Mayor before election Hamish Hay Elected mayor Hamish Hay

The 1986 Christchurch mayoral election was part of the New Zealand local elections held that same year. In 1986, election were held for the Mayor of Christchurch plus other local government positions. The polling was conducted using the standard first-past-the-post electoral method.

Background

Sitting Mayor Hamish Hay was re-elected for a fifth term with a decreased majority, defeating councillor Alex Clark of the Labour Party, who had likewise lost to Hay in 1977. Concurrent to Hay retaining the mayoralty the Citizens' Association kept control of the Christchurch City Council with the composition of the council being ten seats to nine. ^[1]

Postal voting was used for the first time in local elections in Christchurch, the advent of which was credited with a larger turnout of voters, an increase of 22 percent. ^[1]

Results

The following table gives the election results:

1986 Christchurch mayoral election ^[2]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Citizens'	Hamish Hay	39,239	60.95	−4.23
	Labour	Alex Clark	22,918	35.60
	Economic Euthenics	Tubby Hansen	1,322	2.05	+1.40
Informal votes			897	1.39	+0.86
Majority			16,321	25.35
Turnout			64,376

Ward results

Main article: 1986 Christchurch City Council election

Candidates were also elected from wards to the Christchurch City Council. ^{[1] [3] [4]}

	Party/ticket	Councillors
	Citizens	10
	Labour	9

References

1. "Sir Hamish 'survives'". The Press . 13 October 1986. p. 1. Retrieved 28 September 2025– via PapersPast.
2. "Mayoral figures". The Press . 13 October 1986. p. 3. Retrieved 28 September 2025– via PapersPast.
3. "Local body elections: City Council results". The Press . 13 October 1986. p. 3. Archived from the original on 8 April 2025. Retrieved 7 June 2025– via PapersPast.
4. "Declaration of results of elections: Christchurch City". The Press . 21 October 1986. p. 38. Retrieved 8 June 2025– via PapersPast.