The Electoral Commission has declared the official results for the 2020 General Election and referendums - YES for End of Life Choice, NO for Legalisation of Cannabis.

In a statement to media, the Electoral Commission stated the official results for the General Election and referendums held on 17 October 2020 have been determined in accordance with the requirements of electoral legislation.

Labour will now officially form Government, while it was a conclusive YES for the End of Life Choice Act referendum, and a close NO won out for the Cannabis Legalisation and Control referendum.

“The scrutiny of the rolls has been completed and the master roll for each electorate has been prepared,” the statement said. 

“All votes counted on election night have been counted a second time and balanced, and special votes have been checked for eligibility before being counted. This has been done in the presence of Justices of the Peace and any scrutineers appointed by candidates.

“Comprehensive audit checks have also been completed at the national level to ensure the results are accurate.

“The results are subject to any applications for judicial recounts.”

It is a YES for the End of Life Choice Act referendum, and a close NO for the Cannabis Legalisation and Control referendum. Image Electoral Commission. 

The turnout of voters as a percentage of enrolled voters was 82.2%.  Turnout in the Māori electorates was 69.1% (2017 – 66.7%), the highest since 1999 (70.65%). 

Special votes cast totalled 504,625, or 17% of total votes cast, including 62,787 overseas votes.

94.1% of estimated eligible voters were enrolled, up from 92.4% in 2017, and the highest enrolment rate since 2008 (95.3%).  80.7% of 18- to 29-year-olds were enrolled compared with 75.5% in 2017.

For the first time, people could enrol on election day.  Approximately 80,000 people enrolled or updated their details on election day.

“The official results were declared by Gazette Notice today,” the statement said. “Any applications for a judicial recount must be filed with a District Court no later than Wednesday 11 November 2020.

“If there are no applications for recounts, on Thursday 12 November 2020, the Electoral Commission will return the writ to the Clerk of the House of Representatives, allocate list seats in the presence of party scrutineers and declare by Gazette Notice the election of list members of Parliament. 

“If there are applications for judicial recounts, the return of the writ and the election of list members will be delayed until any recounts are complete.”

Labour received 50% of all votes, while National pulled just 25.6%. Image Electoral Commission. 

Party vote - main points

National has two fewer seats and Labour and the Māori Party each have one more:

• The number of seats in Parliament will be 120.
• The Labour Party has 65 seats compared with 64 on election night. 
• The National Party has 33 seats compared with 35 on election night.
• The Māori Party has 2 seats compared with 1 on election night.
• ACT New Zealand and the Green Party remain unchanged with  10 seats each.

Electorate vote – main points

Three electorate results have changed since election night:

• Labour Party candidate Priyanca Radhakrishnan has won Maungakiekie with a majority of 635 votes over National Party candidate Denise Lee.
• Labour Party candidate Willow-Jean Prime has won Northland with a majority of 163 votes over National Party candidate Matt King.
• Labour Party candidate Emily Henderson has won Whangārei with a majority of 431 votes over National Party candidate Shane Reti.
• All other electorate candidates leading on election night have been confirmed as winning their seats.

Key statistics

• The total number of votes cast was 2,919,086. 
• The number of special votes was 504,625, 17% of total votes (2017 – 17%).
• 68% of votes were cast in advance (2017 – 47%). 
• 82.2% of people who were enrolled voted (2017-79.8%).  This is the highest turnout since 1999 (84.8%).
• The final enrolment rate was 94.1% (2017 - 92.4%), the highest since 2008 (95.3%).

Details of the official results are available from www.electionresults.govt.nz.

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