Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has revealed New Zealanders will head to the polls in November, marking the start of a campaign that will determine whether his National-led government wins a second term.
The date has been set for November 7, confirming the date many political trainspotters had already circled on the calendar.
Parliament will be dissolved on October 1, and Writ Day will be on October 4 with nominations closing at noon on October 8.
Advance voting will begin on October 26, and the last day for the return of the writ will be December 3.
The announcement was made at National's annual caucus retreat in Christchurch, where coalition MPs had gathered for their first meetings of the year away from Parliament.
Luxon said it was the "logical time" in November for an election and that looking through a range of dates, the one he chose "felt like a really good one".
"Continuing the recent tradition of announcing the election date early in the year ensures New Zealanders have certainty," he said.
"Kiwis can also have certainty that our Government will continue governing throughout the year to deliver on our plan to fix the basics and build the future.
"When we took office, the country was going in the wrong direction, and it’s taken a lot of hard work in the last two years to start turning things around."
Luxon had teased the announcement for days, but said he only told his coalition partners of the chosen date yesterday.
National Party deputy leader Nicola Willis told media at the caucus retreat earlier this morning that when the date was announced, it would be "game on".
"New Zealand is heading in the right direction," she said.
"What we need to do is to keep the progress going, not put it at risk, not go backwards, not go to the mess we have in the past."
As prime minister, Luxon reserves the right to set the date of the election. He has advised the Governor-General of the election date.
Labour was also currently holding its annual caucus retreat in West Auckland.
Luxon rules out coalition with Greens, Te Pāti Māori
As National Party leader, Luxon said he was open to working with both David Seymour and Winston Peters' party post the election in possible coalition negotiations.
"We have proven that we can work successfully with both ACT and with NZ First, and we're open to working with them again post an election," he said.
Prime Minister outlines his party’s achievements and priorities at a “State of the Nation” address in Auckland. (Source: 1News)
"But we want to make the case that the strongest and most stable form of government will obviously be a very strong party vote for National.
"I can be clear about the parties we won't work with — that's pretty self-evident. We will not be working with Labour because they created this mess. They'll spend more, tax more, borrow more.
"We're not going to be working with the Greens. They have a radical left wing agenda that will only accelerate that: spend more, tax more, borrow more. We won't be working with Te Pāti Māori because they've got a separatist agenda."
Mark the dates down in your calendar?
With the election being held on November 7, voters can expect the campaign to intensify through the winter and spring months.
Parliament will rise in September, giving MPs time to hit the campaign trail full-time. Once the writs are issued in October, the official election period begins.
Voters heading to the polls will notice some changes following the passage of the Government's controversial Electoral Amendment Act last year.
Enrolment will close 13 days before election day, with same-day registration scrapped during both polling day and the advance voting period.
On election day, polling places open at 9am and close at 7pm.
Progress results on the night will reveal if there's a clear victor. Meanwhile, official results, which include the counting of special votes from overseas voters and those who voted outside their electorate, are typically released about two weeks after polling day.
If history is any guide, coalition negotiations could then take weeks.
In 2017, it took until October 19, nearly a month after election day, for NZ First leader Winston Peters to announce he would form a government with Labour.
In 2023, it took six weeks from election day on October 14 until Christopher Luxon was sworn in as PM on November 27, following negotiations with ACT and NZ First.
A convention established
Today's announcement continues a practice that has become an established political tradition: prime ministers setting the election date early in the year.
Former PM Bill English announced on February 1, 2017 that the election would be held on September 23 of that year. In 2020, then-PM Jacinda Ardern announced on January 28 an election for September 19.
Aged just 37 when she took the top job, NZ’s youngest leader had led the country through a pandemic, a natural disaster, and a terrorist attack. (Source: 1News)
In January 2023, Ardern announced the October 14 election date at Labour's caucus retreat in Napier, though her announcement was quickly overshadowed when she also revealed she would resign as Prime Minister and Labour leader.
The last possible legal date for this year's election is December 19.
Every general election since MMP was introduced in 1996 has been held between September and November, with the exception of one.
1News reported on Monday that the PM would reveal the date today.
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