1998 Taranaki-King Country by-election

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Taranaki-King Country by-election, 1998
Flag of New Zealand.svg
  1996 general 2 May 1998 (1998-05-02) 1999 general  
Turnout20,684 [1]
 
Candidate Shane Ardern Owen Jennings
Party National ACT
Popular vote5,9534,965
Percentage29.43%24.55%

 
CandidateMax Purnell Kevin Campbell
Party Labour Alliance
Popular vote3,5463,208
Percentage17.53%15.46%

Member before election

Jim Bolger
National

Elected Member

Shane Ardern
National

The Taranaki-King Country by-election was a by-election in the New Zealand electorate of Taranaki-King Country, a large and predominantly rural district in the west of New Zealand's North Island. It took place on 2 May 1998, and was precipitated by the resignation from parliament of sitting MP Jim Bolger. Bolger was retiring from politics, having recently been replaced as Prime Minister by Jenny Shipley.

The by-election was contested by all major parties. It was won by Shane Ardern, a member of Bolger's National Party, although Ardern gained a majority of only 988 votes. [1] (In the 1996 general election Bolger had a majority of 10,223, or 37.37% in this seat.) Surprisingly, second place was won by Owen Jennings of the ACT party, a small party that promotes economic deregulation and other laissez-faire economic policies. The Labour Party, National's traditional opponent, was pushed back into third place. The Alliance, a left-wing party, gained fourth place. Some distance behind these four were Christian Heritage, New Zealand First, and the Greens, all with similar numbers of votes. They were followed by a group of minor parties and independents.

Results

The following table gives the election results:

1998 Taranaki-King Country by-election
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
National Shane Ardern 5,953 29.43
ACT Owen Jennings 4,96524.55
Labour Max Purnell3,54617.53
Alliance Kevin Campbell 3,20815.46
Christian Heritage Ewen McQueen 5612.77
NZ First Robin Ord5602.77
Green Cindy McDonald5032.49
Legalise Cannabis Michael Appleby 3931.94
United NZ Pauline Gardiner 1270.63
Independent Doug Wilson1270.63
McGillicuddy Serious Paul Cooke760.38
Independent Brett Power560.28
Animals First Alistair McKellow490.24
Independent Greg Walker320.16
Social Credit Avon James Harris170.08
Natural Law Tony Martin170.08
Independent Victor Bryers150.07
Youth Independence Robert Terry100.05
Mana Wahine Mary Gilmore70.03
Progressive PartyRalph Dell30.01
Majority9844.87
Turnout 20,225
National hold Swing -32.51

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References

  1. 1 2 "1998 Taranaki-King Country By-election – 2 May 1998". Chief Electoral Office . Retrieved 19 July 2009.