New Zealand general election, 1966

← 1963

26 November 1966 (1966-11-26)

1969 →

All 80 seats in the New Zealand Parliament
41 seats were needed for a majority

Turnout

1,205,095 (86.0%)

	First party	Second party	Third party

Leader	Keith Holyoake	Norman Kirk	Vernon Cracknell
Party	National	Labour	Social Credit
Leader since	1957	1965	1963
Leader's seat	Pahiatua	Lyttelton	Hobson
Last election	45 seats, 47.1%	35 seats, 43.7%	0 seats, 7.9%
Seats won	44	35	1
Seat change	1	0	1
Popular vote	525,925	499,392	174,513
Percentage	43.6%	41.4%	14.5%
Swing	3.5%	2.3%	6.6%

Prime Minister before election

Keith Holyoake
National

Elected Prime Minister

Keith Holyoake
National

The 1966 New Zealand general election was a nationwide vote to determine the shape of the New Zealand Parliament's 35th term. It saw the governing National Party win a third consecutive term in office. It was also the first time since the 1943 elections that a minor party won a seat in Parliament.

The National Party had established its second administration following the 1960 elections, and had been re-elected in the 1963 elections. Keith Holyoake remained Prime Minister. The Labour Party experienced a leadership change shortly before the 1966 elections: Arnold Nordmeyer, who was closely associated with an unpopular previous Labour government, was replaced by the younger Norman Kirk. Labour remained disunited, however, with ongoing leadership problems undermining Kirk's position. Disagreement between unionists and non-unionists regarding economic policy also weakened the party.

One significant issue that divided National and Labour in the 1966 elections was the question of New Zealand's participation in the Vietnam War. Under National, New Zealand contributed a small number of troops, which Holyoake strongly defended during the election campaign. Labour, by contrast, made the recall of troops one of its key policies; former Labour leader Walter Nash was a particularly strong critic of the war.

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