1994 Selwyn by-election

The Selwyn by-election, a by-election in the New Zealand electorate of Selwyn – a predominantly rural district in the Canterbury Plains in New Zealand's South Island – took place on 13 August 1994. The previous sitting MP, Ruth Richardson, precipitated the poll by resigning from parliament. Richardson planned to retire from politics, having been removed as Minister of Finance the previous year.

1994 Selwyn by-election

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Turnout	21,052
First party Second party   All Candidate David Carter John Wright Party National Alliance Popular vote 8,906 8,488 Percentage 42.32% 40.34%   Third party Fourth party   Candidate Marian Hobbs Tim Shadbolt Party Labour NZ First Popular vote 2,173 1,165 Percentage 10.33% 5.54%
Member before election Ruth Richardson National Elected Member David Carter National

Background

The by-election was significant, as National held on to the majority of the House of Representatives by only one seat (50 to 49). This meant the party would have lost its majority in the House if it failed to retain the seat, and it would have required the formation of a coalition or a confidence-and-supply agreement with another parliamentary party – probably New Zealand First or the Alliance – to maintain governance.

All "major" New Zealand political parties of the day contested the by-election. David Carter, the National Party candidate, won the seat, and therefore the distribution of seats in Parliament did not change . In second place, and only around four hundred votes behind Carter, came the Alliance's John Wright, in a result that surprised many^[which?] commentators. National's traditional opponent, the Labour Party, placed a distant third. The fourth "major" candidate represented the New Zealand First party: Tim Shadbolt, then Mayor of Invercargill.^[1]

Results

The following table shows the official results as published by the Electoral Commission.^[1]

1994 Selwyn by-election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	National	David Carter	8,906	42.32
	Alliance	John Wright	8,488	40.33
	Labour	Marian Hobbs	2,173	10.33
	NZ First	Tim Shadbolt	1,165	5.54
	Christian Heritage	Rosemary Francis	182	0.86
	NORML	Warren Bryson	39	0.19
	Kiwis Against Further Immigration	Bruce Annan	29	0.14
	McGillicuddy Serious	Tim Owens	26	0.12
	Natural Law	Warwick Jones	22	0.10
	NZ Coalition	Kieron Daok	10	0.05
	Christ's Ambassadors Union	Victor Bryer	2	0.01
Majority			418	1.99
Turnout			21,042