1881 New Zealand General Election
8 (Māori) & 9 (general) December 1881 · The colonial parliaments · 95 seats
1881 was the first time a general election was held under universal male suffrage; all MPs were elected in single-member electorates; and the country quota was introduced, allowing rural electorates to have 25% fewer voters than urban electorates.
Prime Minister before
John Hall
Independent
Prime Minister (continued)
John Hall
Independent
Largest force
Conservative Independents
45 of 95 seats
Turnout
66.5%
The result
| Share of the House of Representatives | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative Independents | John Hall | 45 | 0 | — | — | — | |
| Greyite Independents | George Grey | 39 | -2 | — | — | — |
11 further seats went to parties and independents outside the main contenders listed above.