First Māori elections
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4 seats in the House of Representatives of New Zealand |
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The first Māori elections were held in 1868 in four newly formed Māori electorates during the term of 4th Parliament.
All subsequent Māori elections were always held as part of the general elections.
New Zealand's parliamentary history begins with the New Zealand Constitution Act 1852, a British Act of Parliament that granted limited self-rule to the settlers in the colony. This was a reaction to widespread frustration with the colonial authorities, and in particular the nearly unlimited power of the Governor. The Constitution Act established a bicameral parliament, with the upper house (the Legislative Council) appointed, and the lower house (the House of Representatives) elected every five years. In addition, it allowed for six provincial councils, elected every four years.
To be eligible to vote, the following criteria had to be met:
In theory, this would have allowed Māori men to vote, but most of their land was communally held (rather than held by individuals) and held in customary title (i.e. unregistered as opposed to freehold) and thus fell outside of the definitions of the Constitution Act. As a consequence, Māori were effectively unable to register as voters.
The Constitution Act made an allowance, in Section 71, for some districts to be set aside where Māori laws, customs and ways of life were maintained "for the Government of themselves, in all their Relations and Dealings with each other", provided these were "not repugnant to general principles of humanity." Whilst this would have allowed some degree of self-governance by Māori, Section 71 was never implemented.
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