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1998 Taranaki-King Country by-election

Taranaki-King Country by-election, 1998

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Turnout	20,684[1]
Candidate Shane Ardern Owen Jennings Party National ACT Popular vote 5,953 4,965 Percentage 29.43% 24.55%   Candidate Max Purnell Kevin Campbell Party Labour Alliance Popular vote 3,546 3,208 Percentage 17.53% 15.46%
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 electorateofTaranaki-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 MinisterbyJenny 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:

References[edit]

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