12th New Zealand Parliament

1893 general election

Main article: 1893 New Zealand general election

In the 1892 electoral redistribution, population shift to the North Island required the transfer of one seat from the South Island to the north. The resulting ripple effect saw every electorate established in 1890 have its boundaries altered, and 14 new electorates were established. Of those, eight electorates were established for the first time: , , , , , , , and . The remaining six electorates had existed before, and they were re-established for the 12th Parliament: , , , , , and .

The 1893 general election was held on Tuesday, 28 November in the general electorates and on Wednesday, 20 December in the Māori electorates, respectively. A total of 74 MPs were elected; 30 represented North Island electorates, 40 represented South Island electorates, and the remaining four represented Māori electorates. 302,997 voters were enrolled and the official turnout at the election was 75.3%.

Sessions

The 12th Parliament sat for three sessions, and was prorogued on 14 November 1896.

Overview of seats

Ministries

The Liberal Government of New Zealand had taken office on 24 January 1891. John Ballance, who had been leading the Ballance Ministry, had died on 27 April 1893 and had been succeeded by the Seddon Ministry under Richard Seddon. The Seddon Ministry remained in power for the whole term of this Parliament and held power until Seddon's death on 10 June 1906.

Initial composition of the 12th Parliament

74 seats were created across 66 electorates. 62 electorates returned a single member and four electoral districts had three representatives each.{{cite web |access-date=27 November 2013

By-elections during 12th Parliament

There were a number of changes during the term of the 12th Parliament.

Notes

References

References

1. "General elections 1853–2005 - dates & turnout". Elections New Zealand.
2. McIvor, Timothy L.. "Ballance, John 1839–1893".
3. Hamer, David. "Seddon, Richard John - Biography".