The 1875–1876 New Zealand general election was held between 20 December 1875 and 29 January 1876 to elect a total of 88 MPs in 73 electorates to the 6th session of the New Zealand Parliament. The Māori vote was held on 4 and 15 January 1876. A total of 56,471 voters were registered. Background Political parties had not been established yet; this only happened after the 1890 election. The previous parliament had 78 representatives from 72 electorates. In October 1875, Parliament passed the Representation Act 1875, and resolved to increase the size of Parliament to 88 representatives through the following changes: one additional member for City of Dunedin (from two to three) the single member electorates of Christchurch East and Christchurch West to amalgamate and form the City of Christchurch electorate with three members one additional member for Timaru ( was formed as a new electorate) one additional member for Waitaki (from one to two) one additional member for Grey Valley (from one to two) one additional member for (from one to two) one additional member for (from one to two) one additional member for Wanganui (from one to two) one additional member for (from one to two) a new electorate (with one member) With the two new electorates and the amalgamation in Christchurch, the number of electorates thus increased by one to 73. Eleven of the electorates were two-member electorates; two electorates were three-member electorates. To split Timaru into two electorates was proposed by the Timaru incumbent, Edward Stafford. The new electorate for the Waikato, Waipa, was added on the proposal put forward by William Jackson, who retired at the end of the parliamentary term in 1875. The election was held over six weeks in December 1875 and January 1876. The date of election is defined here as the day on which the poll took place, or if there was no contest, the day of nomination. The first elections were held on 20 December 1875 in the City of Dunedin and City of Nelson electorates, returning a total of five members. In Dunedin, the three positions were contested by eight candidates. In Nelson, 20 December was the nomination day and the two candidates were returned unopposed. In two electorates, elections were held on Christmas Eve, while 19 candidates were elected between Christmas and New Year. The last election was held in the electorate on 29 January 1876 between Arthur