The next New Zealand general election will be held after the current 51st New Zealand Parliament is dissolved or expires. The current Parliament was elected on Saturday, 20 September 2014. The last possible date for the election to be held is Saturday, 18 November 2017.
Unless an early election is called or the election date is set to circumvent holding a by-election, a general election is held every three years. The last election was held on Saturday, 20 September 2014.[1]
The Governor General must issue writs for an election within seven days of the expiration or dissolution of the current Parliament.[2] Under section 17 of the Constitution Act 1986, Parliament expires three years "from the day fixed for the return of the writs issued for the last preceding general election of members of the House of Representatives, and no longer." The writs for the 2014 election were returned on 10 October 2014, a day late due to a judicial recount of the Te Tai Tokerau electorate.[3] As a result, the 51st Parliament will expire, if not dissolved earlier, on Tuesday, 10 October 2017. Consequently, the last day for issuance of writs of election is 17 October 2014. The writs must be returned within 50 days of their issuance (save for any judicial recount or death of a candidate), which will be Wednesday, 6 December 2017.[4] Because polling day must be a Saturday[4] and two weeks is generally required for the counting of special votes, the last possible date for the next general election is Saturday, 18 November 2017.
