New Zealand is a representative democracy. Members of the unicameral New Zealand Parliament gain their seats through nationwide general elections, or in by-elections. General elections are usually held every three years; they may be held at an earlier date at the discretion of the prime minister, although it usually only happens in the event of a vote of no confidence or other exceptional circumstances. A by-election is held to fill a vacancy arising during a parliamentary term. The most recent general election took place on 17 October 2020.
United Future New Zealand, usually known as United Future, was a centrist political party in New Zealand. The party was in government between 2005 and 2017, first alongside Labour (2005–2008) and then supporting National (2008–2017).
The Nga Iwi Morehu Movement was a New Zealand Māori political party. Its name literally translates as "the surviving people" or "the remnant people". It contested the 1996 election as an unregistered party, running a single candidate and gaining 194 votes. It ran two candidates in the 2002 election, winning 522 votes. In the 1999 election, members of Nga Iwi Morehu stood under the banner of the Freedom Movement.
Nelson is a New Zealand parliamentary electorate, returning one Member of Parliament to the House of Representatives of New Zealand. From 1853 to 1860, the electorate was called Town of Nelson. From 1860 to 1881, it was City of Nelson. The electorate is the only one that has continuously existed since the 1st Parliament in 1853.
West Coast-Tasman is a New Zealand parliamentary electorate. Since its formation for the 1996 election, it has been held by Damien O'Connor of the Labour Party apart from one parliamentary term, when National's Chris Auchinvole was the representative from 2008 to 2011.
The No Commercial Airport at Whenuapai Airbase Party was a local political party in New Zealand which opposed the transformation of Auckland's Whenuapai airbase into a commercial airport.
The Bill and Ben Party was a New Zealand joke political party formed in 2008 and voluntarily deregistered in 2010. The party's leaders were Jamie Linehan and Ben Boyce of the TV3 satirical sports show Pulp Sport. In the 2008 general election the party secured 0.56% of the vote, outpolling every other party not in parliament prior to the election. It gained the ninth-highest number of votes out of the 19 parties standing for election.
The 2014 New Zealand general election took place on Saturday 20 September 2014 to determine the membership of the 51st New Zealand Parliament.
The Mana Movement, formerly known as the Mana Party, is a New Zealand political party led by Hone Harawira which was formed in April 2011 following his resignation from the Māori Party. Harawira won the by-election in Te Tai Tokerau of 25 June 2011 for the Mana Party and retained the seat during the 2011 general election, but lost it in 2014 and 2017 to Labour Party candidate Kelvin Davis.
The New Economics Party was a political party in New Zealand. It stood a single candidate in the 2011 general election.
The Aotearoa NZ Youth Party or Aotearoa NZ Youth Independence Party was an unregistered political party in New Zealand. The party was the vehicle of "professional stirrer" Robert Terry of Reefton, who has contested elections on and off since 1998. Terry has received convictions for assault, bomb threats, and multiple threats to behead people.
The Mayor of Tasman is the head of the municipal government of Tasman District, New Zealand. The mayor is directly elected using the first-past-the-post electoral system.
The Ban 1080 Party was a political party in New Zealand that opposed the use of sodium fluoroacetate (1080) poison, which is widely used in New Zealand for controlling mammalian pests such as possums and rats. The party was founded in 2014 by Bill Wallace and its co-leaders were Bill Wallace and Mike Downard. The party was registered by the Electoral Commission in 2014 and deregistered in February 2018.
Maureen Helena Pugh is a New Zealand politician who is a Member of Parliament for the National Party. She has twice appeared to have won a list seat based on preliminary results, then missed out on a seat when the final results came in, then entered Parliament anyway to replace a retiring MP. In her third election, in 2020, she outright won a list seat.
The Money Free movement is a political movement that advocates for a resource-based economy, where all work is voluntary. The movement has political parties in New Zealand and the United Kingdom and is aligned with work of the American-based Jacque Fresco, who is the founder of The Venus Project.
The New Zealand Outdoors Party is a registered political party in New Zealand. The party is led by co-leaders Alan Simmons and Sue Grey and seeks to protect New Zealand's environment and "outdoors heritage."
The Opportunities Party is a centrist political party based in New Zealand. It was founded in 2016 by economist and philanthropist Gareth Morgan. The party is based upon an idea of "evidence-based policy", with policy priorities of "Universal Basic Income (UBI)", "Affordable Housing and Rent", "Smart Small Business", and "Climate Friendly Recovery".
The 2020 New Zealand general election was held on Saturday 17 October 2020 to determine the composition of the 53rd parliament. Voters elected 120 members to the House of Representatives, 72 from single-member electorates and 48 from closed party lists. Two referendums, one on the personal use of cannabis and one on euthanasia, were also held on the same day. Official results of the election and referendums were released on 6 November.
Vision NZ is a nationalist political party in New Zealand led by Hannah Tamaki, the co-leader of the Christian movement Destiny Church. The party was announced in May 2019. It contested the 2020 New Zealand general election both for electorate seats and the party list vote, receiving 0.1% of the party vote and winning no seats.
