New Zealand by-election
The Tauranga by-election was a by-election in the New Zealand electorate of Tauranga, a city in New Zealand's North Island. It took place on 17 April 1993, and was precipitated by the resignation from parliament of sitting MP Winston Peters. Peters, who had been increasingly at odds with his National Party colleagues, had resigned both from his party and from Parliament. He contested the seat as an independent.
Background.
None of the major parties contested this election, claiming the upcoming general election was close enough to make the by-election nothing but a publicity stunt. The National Party did not propose a candidate to replace Peters. As expected, Peters won a massive majority, receiving just over ninety percent of the vote. While Peters' grip on Tauranga was so secure at the time that no one believed he would lose, there was some question about what his margin would have been had the other parties challenged him.
Candidates.
Eleven candidates stood in the election. None of the three main political parties at the time (the National Party, Labour Party or Alliance) fielded candidates. The candidates were:
Previous election.
! scope="col" colspan="2" style="width: 130px"|Party
! scope="col" style="width: 17em"|Candidate
! scope="col" style="width: 5em"|Votes
! scope="col" style="width: 3.5em"|%
! scope="col" style="width: 3.5em"| ;templatestyles src="Template:Tooltip/styles.css" / ;±%
! colspan="3" style="text-align: right; margin-right: 0.5em" | Majority
 
! colspan="3" style="text-align: right; margin-right: 0.5em" scope=row | Turnout
 
! colspan="3" style="text-align:right;" scope=row | Registered electors
Results.
The following table gives the election results:
! scope="col" colspan="2" style="width: 130px"|Party
! scope="col" style="width: 17em"|Candidate
! scope="col" style="width: 5em"|Votes
! scope="col" style="width: 3.5em"|%
! scope="col" style="width: 3.5em"| ;templatestyles src="Template:Tooltip/styles.css" / ;±%
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 |- style="background-color:#F6F6F6"
! colspan="3" style="text-align:right;" | Informal votes
! colspan="3" style="text-align: right; margin-right: 0.5em" | Majority
 
! colspan="3" style="text-align: right; margin-right: 0.5em" scope=row | Turnout
! colspan="3" style="text-align:right;" scope=row | Registered electors
The distant runner-up in the election was a member of the McGillicuddy Serious Party, a joke party.
References.
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