New Zealand general election, 1887

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7 (Māori) & 26 (general) September 1887

1890 →

← outgoing members

elected members →

All 95 seats in the New Zealand House of Representatives
48 seats were needed for a majority

Turnout

67.1%

	First party	Second party

Leader	Harry Atkinson	Robert Stout
Party	Independent	Independent
Leader since	1883	1884
Leader's seat	Egmont	Dunedin East (lost seat)
Seats won	52	34
Seat change	20	23
Popular vote	N/A	N/A
Percentage	N/A	N/A
Swing	N/A	N/A

Prime Minister before election

Robert Stout
Independent

Subsequent Prime Minister

Harry Atkinson
Independent

Robert Stout
Independent

Harry Atkinson
Independent

The New Zealand general election of 1887 was held on 26 September to elect 95 MPs to the tenth session of the New Zealand Parliament. The Māori vote was held on 7 September. 175,410 votes (67.1% turnout) were cast. In 5 seats there was only one candidate.

The Representation Act 1887 had major implication for the procedure of revising electoral boundaries. The revision task was transferred from committees formed by MPs to a permanent Representation Commission. The act specified that a country quota of 18% be applied to all designated districts that excluded boroughs with a population above 2,000 people, and that all electorates were to have the same nominal population within a tolerance of 750 people. It was also stipulated that electoral boundaries were to be reviewed after each census.

In the 1887 electoral redistribution, although the Representation Commission was required through the Representation Act 1887 to maintain existing electorates "as far as possible", rapid population growth in the North Island required the transfer of three seats from the South Island to the north. Ten new electorates were created: Auckland Central, Woodville, Wellington South and Suburbs, Masterton, Wellington East, Waimea-Picton, Linwood, Rangitata, Waihemo, and Ponsonby. One former electorate, Wairarapa, was recreated.

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