To get the data needed for the up-coming boundary review, the Government Statistician worked out how many Māori and general electorates there should be for the 2026 General Election. They also worked out the population quotas – how many people should be in each electorate.
For the 2026 election, the number of:
- general electorates in the South Island is fixed at 16
- general electorates in the North Island reduces from 49 to 48
- Māori electorates remains unchanged at seven.
The population quotas in those electorates are:
- 70,037 people for South Island general electorates
- 69,875 people for North Island general electorates
- 74,367 people for the Māori electorates.
Find out more about the Government Statistician’s report on the Stats NZ website
The Representation Commission will use the Government Statistician’s report to conduct a boundary review before the 2026 General Election.