About this election
New Zealand is scheduled to hold its general election on 7 November 2026, renewing the 120-seat House of Representatives for a three-year term. It will be the first electoral test of the centre-right coalition led by Prime Minister Christopher Luxon of the National Party, which took office after the 2023 election in a three-way arrangement with the libertarian ACT party and the populist New Zealand First. New Zealand's mixed-member proportional (MMP) system makes coalition-building the central feature of its politics, and the 2026 campaign will turn on the economy, the cost of living, public services and the coalition's record.
New Zealand uses MMP, adopted by referendum in 1993. Each voter casts two votes: a party vote, which determines the overall share of seats each party receives, and an electorate vote for a local MP. Of the roughly 120 seats, 72 are electorate seats (including seven Māori electorates, for which voters of Māori descent may opt in) and the remainder are filled from party lists to make each party's total proportional to its party vote. A party must win at least 5% of the party vote, or one electorate seat, to share in the list seats — a threshold that can leave smaller parties out or, conversely, hand them influence. "Overhang" seats can push the total above 120, as happened in 2023. Governments require the confidence of a majority of the House, so coalitions and confidence-and-supply deals are the norm.
Two major parties dominate: the centre-right National Party and the centre-left Labour Party, each of which leads a bloc. National currently governs with ACT, which advocates lower taxes and deregulation, and New Zealand First, the nationalist party of veteran politician Winston Peters. On the other side sit Labour, led by former prime minister Chris Hipkins, the environmentalist Green Party, and Te Pāti Māori (the Māori Party), which advocates for Māori rights and has grown its presence in the Māori electorates. The result is usually a contest between two potential coalitions rather than two parties.
The 2023 election ended six years of Labour government and produced a National-led coalition, after Labour's vote fell sharply from its 2020 majority.
| Party (2023) | Party vote % | Seats |
| National | 38.08 | 48 |
| Labour | 26.92 | 34 |
| Green | 11.61 | 15 |
| ACT | 8.64 | 11 |
| New Zealand First | 6.09 | 8 |
| Te Pāti Māori | 3.08 | 6 |
The overhang created by Te Pāti Māori winning more electorate seats than its party vote entitled produced a 123-seat Parliament, in which the National-ACT-New Zealand First coalition holds 67 seats.
The decisive questions are whether the National-led coalition can renew its majority or Labour can rebuild an alternative with the Greens and Te Pāti Māori, how the smaller parties fare against the 5% threshold, and whether the Māori electorates again produce an overhang. The cost of living, interest rates and housing, health and education funding, law and order, and the coalition's policies on Māori-Crown relations are the leading issues.
New Zealand's electoral map pits National's strength in rural and provincial areas and affluent suburbs against Labour and the Greens in the big cities, especially central Auckland and Wellington. Te Pāti Māori is strongest in the Māori electorates, which span the country. South Auckland and the provincial swing seats are perennial battlegrounds. ElectioMap will map the party vote across New Zealand's 16 regions as results are released.
This page will display the live party vote, the projected seat allocation under MMP, and the coalition arithmetic as the count proceeds, with a regional map. Figures are sourced from the New Zealand Electoral Commission, which administers and certifies the vote.
It is scheduled for 7 November 2026, renewing the 120-seat House of Representatives for a three-year term. It is the first test of the National-led coalition elected in 2023.
Mixed-member proportional: each voter casts a party vote (which sets each party's overall seat share) and an electorate vote for a local MP. Of about 120 seats, 72 are electorates (including seven Māori seats) and the rest come from party lists. A party needs 5% of the party vote or one electorate seat to win list seats.
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon of the National Party leads a coalition with the ACT party and New Zealand First, formed after the 2023 election. The opposition comprises Labour (Chris Hipkins), the Greens and Te Pāti Māori.
National won 38.08% and 48 seats, Labour 26.92% and 34, the Greens 15, ACT 11, New Zealand First 8 and Te Pāti Māori 6. An overhang produced a 123-seat Parliament, with the National-ACT-NZ First coalition holding 67 seats.
Preliminary results come on election night, with the official count (including special votes) about three weeks later. Live party-vote figures and a regional map will appear on this page as counting begins.
Compiled and reviewed by Bartłomiej Paruzel, Election Data Analyst, from official results. See our data methodology.