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The Māori electorates explained: seven seats, the Māori roll and 160 years of history

What the Māori electorates are, how the Māori roll and electoral option work, the seven seats in 2026, and how these seats have shaped results from 1867 to the 2023 overhang.

By NZ ElectionUpdated 4 min read

The seven Māori electorates: The Māori electorates explained: seven seats, the Māori roll and 160 years of history
In this guide
  1. The seven Māori electorates
  2. How the Māori roll works
  3. History: 1867 to today
  4. Who has held the Māori seats
  5. Why the Māori seats matter on election night
  6. Questions and answers
  7. Sources

New Zealand has two kinds of electorate: general electorates and Māori electorates. Voters of Māori descent can choose which roll to be on, and voters on the Māori roll elect the MPs for the seven Māori electorates. These seats have existed since 1867, making them one of the oldest forms of indigenous representation in any parliament.

Quick answer

  • There are seven Māori electorates in 2026, the same as every election since 2002.
  • Anyone of Māori descent can choose to enrol on the Māori roll or the general roll.
  • The number of Māori seats depends on how many people choose the Māori roll.
  • In 2023, Te Pāti Māori won six of the seven, creating two overhang seats.
  • Your party vote counts the same on either roll.

The seven Māori electorates

ElectorateArea, broadly
Te Tai TokerauNorthland and parts of north and west Auckland
Tāmaki MakaurauCentral, south and east Auckland
Hauraki-WaikatoHauraki, Waikato and parts of south Auckland
WaiarikiBay of Plenty, Rotorua and Taupō
Ikaroa-RāwhitiEast Coast, Hawke's Bay, Wairarapa and the Hutt
Te Tai HauāuruTaranaki, Whanganui, Manawatū and parts of the lower North Island
Te Tai TongaThe South Island, Wellington and the Chatham Islands

Boundaries are reviewed after each census and Māori Electoral Option. Check your electorate at vote.nz.

How the Māori roll works

  1. Anyone of Māori descent can choose. You can be on the general roll or the Māori roll, not both.
  2. Your choice decides your electorate vote. If you're on the Māori roll, you vote for a candidate in a Māori electorate. On the general roll, you vote in a general electorate.
  3. Your party vote is the same. Everyone chooses from the same list of parties, so your say in which parties make up Parliament doesn't change.
  4. You can switch rolls. Māori voters can now change rolls at any time up until three months before a general election. For 2026 the cut-off was 6 August.
  5. The number of seats follows the roll. The more people on the Māori roll, the more Māori electorates there are.

History: 1867 to today

Milestones in the vote

  1. 1853First general election: 37 seats, men with property only.
  2. 1867Four Māori seats created.
  3. 1870Secret ballot introduced.
  4. 1879Property test dropped, so all adult men can vote; terms cut from five years to three.
  5. 1893Women win the vote, a world first for a self-governing country.
  6. 1919Women can stand for Parliament.
  7. 1933Elizabeth McCombs becomes the first woman MP.
  8. 1951Upper house abolished.
  9. 1974Voting age lowered to 18.
  10. 1993Referendum chooses MMP.
  11. 1996First MMP election.
Sources: NZHistory, Te Ara, Electoral Commission.
  • 1867. The Maori Representation Act created four Māori seats, three in the North Island and one in the South. All Māori men aged 21 and over could vote, 12 years before all European men could.
  • 1876. The seats, first meant to be temporary, were made permanent.
  • 1893. Māori women won the vote along with other women.
  • 1867 to 1993. The number stayed at four for more than 125 years, even as the Māori population grew.
  • 1986. The Royal Commission that recommended MMP suggested the Māori seats could go if MMP was adopted. After strong opposition from Māori, they were kept.
  • 1996. Under MMP, the number became linked to the Māori roll. There were five Māori seats in 1996, six in 1999 and seven from 2002.

Who has held the Māori seats

For much of the 20th century, Labour held all four Māori seats, after an alliance with the Rātana movement in the 1930s. In 1996, NZ First won all five. Labour won them back in 1999. The Māori Party, formed in 2004, won seats from 2005, and Te Pāti Māori won six of seven in 2023.

Seats won at every MMP election, 1996 to 2023

1996120
1999120
2002120
2005121
2008122
2011121
2014121
2017120
2020120
2023122
  • National
  • Labour
  • Green
  • ACT
  • NZ First
  • Te Pāti Māori / Māori Party
  • Other parties
Seats won at each general election. The dashed line marks a majority of the seats in that Parliament. "Other parties" covers the Alliance, United/United Future, the Progressives and Mana. 2023 shows the election result of 122 seats, before the Port Waikato by-election made it 123. Source: Te Ara, Electoral Commission.

Why the Māori seats matter on election night

  • Overhang. Because a party can win Māori electorates with a smaller national party vote, the Māori seats have been the main source of overhang. See overhang seats explained.
  • Small parties. Winning a Māori electorate qualifies a party for list seats even below 5%.
  • Special votes. Results in Māori electorates have often shifted after special votes are counted. In 2023, Te Pāti Māori went from four seats on election night to six in the official result.

Questions and answers

How many Māori electorates are there?

Seven: Te Tai Tokerau, Tāmaki Makaurau, Hauraki-Waikato, Waiariki, Ikaroa-Rāwhiti, Te Tai Hauāuru and Te Tai Tonga.

Who can enrol on the Māori roll?

Anyone of Māori descent who is eligible to enrol. They can choose either the Māori roll or the general roll.

Can I switch from the general roll to the Māori roll?

Yes. Māori voters can change rolls at any time except in the three months before a general election.

Does being on the Māori roll change my party vote?

No. Everyone gets the same party vote. The roll only decides which electorate you vote in.

When were the Māori seats created?

In 1867, under the Maori Representation Act. They are among the oldest dedicated indigenous seats in any parliament.

Why does the number of Māori seats change?

Since 1996, it's been based on the Māori electoral population: how many people of Māori descent choose the Māori roll, plus their children.

Sources

This guide is general information about New Zealand elections, checked against the sources linked above on 3 November 2026. For anything about your own enrolment or vote, check vote.nz or call the Electoral Commission on 0800 36 76 56.

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