1998 Taranaki-King Country by-election

New Zealand by-election

Taranaki-King Country by-election, 1998

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| <- 1996 general | 2 May 1998 (1998-05-02) | 1999 general ->

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Turnout| 20,684[1]
|  |  |

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Candidate  | Shane Ardern | Owen Jennings
Party  | National | ACT
Popular vote  | 5,953 | 4,965
Percentage  | 29.43% | 24.55%

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|  |
Candidate  | Max Purnell  | Kevin Campbell
Party  | Labour | Alliance
Popular vote  | 3,546  | 3,208
Percentage  | 17.53%  | 15.46%

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| Member before election

Jim Bolger
National

| Elected Member

Shane Ardern
National

|

The Taranaki-King Country by-election was a by-election in the New Zealand electorate of Taranaki-King Country, a large and predominantly rural district in the west of New Zealand's North Island. It took place on 2 May 1998, and was precipitated by the resignation from parliament of sitting MP Jim Bolger. Bolger was retiring from politics, having recently been replaced as Prime Minister by Jenny Shipley.

The by-election was contested by all major parties. It was won by Shane Ardern, a member of Bolger's National Party, although Ardern gained a majority of only 988 votes.[1] (In the 1996 general election Bolger had a majority of 10,223, or 37.37% in this seat.) Surprisingly, second place was won by Owen Jennings of the ACT party, a small party that promotes economic deregulation and other laissez-faire economic policies. The Labour Party, National's traditional opponent, was pushed back into third place. The Alliance, a left-wing party, gained fourth place. Some distance behind these four were Christian Heritage, New Zealand First, and the Greens, all with similar numbers of votes. They were followed by a group of minor parties and independents.

## Results

[edit]

The following table gives the election results:

1998 Taranaki-King Country by-election Party  | Candidate  | Votes  | %  | ±%

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| National | Shane Ardern | 5,953  | 29.43  |
| ACT | Owen Jennings | 4,965  | 24.55  |
| Labour | Max Purnell  | 3,546  | 17.53  |
| Alliance | Kevin Campbell | 3,208  | 15.46  |
| Christian Heritage | Ewen McQueen | 561  | 2.77  |
| NZ First | Robin Ord  | 560  | 2.77  |
| Green | Cindy McDonald  | 503  | 2.49  |
| Legalise Cannabis | Michael Appleby | 393  | 1.94  |
| United NZ | Pauline Gardiner | 127  | 0.63  |
| Independent | Doug Wilson  | 127  | 0.63  |
| McGillicuddy Serious | Paul Cooke  | 76  | 0.38  |
| Independent | Brett Power  | 56  | 0.28  |
| Animals First | Alistair McKellow  | 49  | 0.24  |
| Independent | Greg Walker  | 32  | 0.16  |
| Social Credit | Avon James Harris  | 17  | 0.08  |
| Natural Law | Tony Martin  | 17  | 0.08  |
| Independent | Victor Bryers  | 15  | 0.07  |
| Youth Independence  | Robert Terry  | 10  | 0.05  |
| Mana Wahine | Mary Gilmore  | 7  | 0.03  |
| Progressive Party  | Ralph Dell  | 3  | 0.01  |
Majority | 984  | 4.87  |
Turnout | 20,225  |  |
| National hold | Swing | -32.51  |

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b "1998 Taranaki-King Country By-election – 2 May 1998". Chief Electoral Office. Retrieved 19 July 2009.

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