Boundary review to take place in 2025
A review of electorate boundaries for the 2026 General Election will get underway in February next year.
It will be held by the Representation Commission, which is the independent body that reviews and adjusts the boundaries and names of Parliamentary electorates after each population census.
The role of the Commission is to ensure electorates have about the same number of people living in them, so that people have equal representation in Parliament. Factors considered when reviewing the boundaries include existing boundaries and communities of interest, and iwi affiliations in Māori electorates.
At a meeting in Wellington yesterday, members of the Commission nominated District Court Judge Kevin Kelly as Chair and confirmed a timetable for the six-month long review.
The proposed new boundaries will be released in March next year for public consultation. The Representation Commission will consider all submissions before releasing the final boundaries in August.
Membership of the Representation Commission
The Representation Commission is made up of public officials and government and opposition appointees and is chaired by a Judge.
The members of the Representation Commission are:
- Judge Kevin Kelly, Chair
- Anselm Haanen, Surveyor-General, Land Information New Zealand
- Vince Galvin, Chief Methodologist, Stats NZ
- Karl Le Quesne, Chief Electoral Officer, Electoral Commission
- Brendan J Duffy ONZM, Chair, Local Government Commission
- Hon Roger Sowry ONZM, Government representative
- Hon Andrew Little, Opposition representative
When considering the Māori electorate boundaries, the membership will also include:
- Grace Smit, Deputy Secretary, Te Puni Kōkiri
- Rev Dr Steven Elers, Government Māori representative
- Professor Meihana Durie, Opposition Māori representative
2025 Boundary Review timetable
10 February: Representation Commission meets to set proposed boundaries
24 March: Proposed boundaries released for public comment
24 March to 27 April: Public can make objections on proposed boundaries
8 to 21 May: Public can make counter-objections on any objections received
9 to 18 June: Public hearings on proposed electorate names and boundaries
8 August: Final electorate boundaries released
2026 General Election: New electorate boundaries apply
ENDS
FAQs on the boundary review
Who reviews the electorate boundaries?
The Representation Commission is the independent body responsible for reviewing and adjusting electorate boundaries. More information is available here: https://vote.nz/boundary-review
The Electoral Commission, Land Information New Zealand and Stats NZ provide administrative and technical support to the Representation Commission.
How many electorates will there be for the 2026 election?
Stats NZ released the number of electorates for the 2026 General Election and the population for each electorate on 23 October 2024. Read Stats NZ’s media release
The number of South Island general electorates is fixed by law at 16. Because of population changes, the number of North Island general electorates will reduce from 49 to 48. The number of Māori electorates remains unchanged at seven.