page_title: 2011 New Zealand general election
section_title: Electorate boundaries
hierarchical_section_title: 2011 New Zealand general election / Background / Electorate boundaries
caption_attribution_description: English: Advance voting in camper vans in Christchurch, as many polling stations are unavailable due to the earthquakes.
context_page_description: The 2011 New Zealand general election on Saturday 26 November 2011 determined the membership of the 50th New Zealand Parliament.
  One hundred and twenty-one MPs were elected to the New Zealand House of Representatives, 70 from single-member electorates, including one overhang seat, and 50 from party lists. New Zealand since 1996 has used the Mixed Member Proportional voting system, giving voters two votes: one for a political party and the other for their local electorate MP. A referendum on the voting system was held at the same time as the election, with voters voting by majority to keep the MMP system.
  A total of 3,070,847 people were registered to vote in the election, with over 2.2 million votes cast and a turnout of 74.21% – the lowest turnout since 1887. The incumbent National Party, led by John Key, gained the plurality with 47.3% of the party vote and 59 seats, two seats short of holding a majority. The opposing Labour Party, led by Phil Goff, lost ground winning 27.5% of the vote and 34 seats, while the Green Party won 11.1% of the vote and 14 seats – the biggest share of the party vote for a minor party since 1996.
context_section_description: Electorates in the election were the same as at the 2008 election.
  Electorates and their boundaries in New Zealand are reviewed every five years after the New Zealand census. The last review took place in 2007, following the 2006 census. The next review is not due until 2014, following the 2013 census (the 2011 census was cancelled due to the 22 February 2011 Christchurch earthquake).
caption: Advance voting in campervans in Christchurch. Campervans were used as many of the polling stations used at previous elections are unavailable due to the 2010 and 2011 earthquakes.
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