New Zealand 2008 general election
What was the result of the 2008 general election in New Zealand?
New Zealand National Party won 58 of 122 seats with 44.9% of the vote. 79.5% of registered voters cast a ballot.
New Zealand- Held:
- Final result
- ParlGov, read 5 October 2026
Which party won the most seats?
Final results from ParlGov, read : New Zealand National Party won 58 of 122 seats with 44.9% of the vote; 79.5% of registered voters cast a ballot, down 1.5 points on 2005.
- New Zealand National Party 58 +10 seats 44.9% +5.8 points
- New Zealand Labour Party 43 −7 seats 34.0% −7.1 points
- Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand 9 +3 seats 6.7% +1.4 points
- New Zealand First 0 −7 seats 4.1% −1.6 points
- ACT New Zealand 5 +3 seats 3.6% +2.1 points
- Te Pāti Māori 5 +1 seat 2.4% +0.3 points
- Jim Anderton's Progressive Party 1 0 seats 0.9% −0.3 points
- United Future 1 −2 seats 0.9% −1.8 points
- Seats won
- Change on the previous election at the right
- Share of the vote
- Share at the previous election
- Change in points at the right
Changes are against the New Zealand 2005 general election, party by party.
- New Zealand National Party58
- New Zealand Labour Party43
- Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand9
- ACT New Zealand5
- Te Pāti Māori5
- Jim Anderton's Progressive Party1
- United Future1
Key numbers
44.9%
Share of the vote won by New Zealand National Party
New Zealand National Party won 58 of 122 seats. A majority needs 62.
+10 seats
Seats gained by New Zealand National Party
The largest gain in seats compared with 2005. New Zealand First lost 7 seats.
79.5%
Voter turnout
Down 1.5 points on 2005.
Seats and votes by party
| Party | Seats | ± seats | % | ± points | Votes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New Zealand National Party | 58 | +10 | 44.9 | +5.8 | 1,053,398 |
| New Zealand Labour Party | 43 | −7 | 34.0 | −7.1 | 796,880 |
| Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand | 9 | +3 | 6.7 | +1.4 | 157,613 |
| New Zealand First | 0 | −7 | 4.1 | −1.6 | 95,356 |
| ACT New Zealand | 5 | +3 | 3.6 | +2.1 | 85,496 |
| Te Pāti Māori | 5 | +1 | 2.4 | +0.3 | 55,980 |
| Jim Anderton's Progressive Party | 1 | 0 | 0.9 | −0.3 | 21,241 |
| United Future | 1 | −2 | 0.9 | −1.8 | 20,497 |
± is the change against the New Zealand 2005 general election, party by party.
Votes by party
- New Zealand National Party 1,053,398
- New Zealand Labour Party 796,880
- Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand 157,613
- New Zealand First 95,356
- ACT New Zealand 85,496
- Te Pāti Māori 55,980
- Jim Anderton's Progressive Party 21,241
- United Future 20,497
ParlGov lists parties with at least 1 percent of the vote or 2 seats, so the rows do not add up to the valid votes.
How many people voted?
79.5% of the 2,990,759 registered voters cast a ballot (2,376,480 ballots), down 1.5 points on 2005. 2,344,566 of them were valid votes.
How do the votes compare with the seats?
- New Zealand National Party44.9% of votes47.5% of seats
- New Zealand Labour Party34.0% of votes35.2% of seats
- Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand6.7% of votes7.4% of seats
- ACT New Zealand3.6% of votes4.1% of seats
- Te Pāti Māori2.4% of votes4.1% of seats
- Jim Anderton's Progressive Party0.9% of votes0.8% of seats
- United Future0.9% of votes0.8% of seats
- New Zealand First4.1% of votes0.0% of seats
The Gallagher index of disproportionality is 3.8 (0 when seats follow votes exactly); the effective number of parties is 3.1 by votes and 2.8 by seats; New Zealand National Party led New Zealand Labour Party by 10.9 points of the vote.
Time and source Data as of