a turnout of 93.5%. This turnout was the highest ever recorded at this point. The number of seats being contested was 80, a number which had been fixed since 1902. Election results Party standings The 1946 election saw the governing Labour Party retain office by a four-seat margin, winning forty-two seats to the National Party's thirty-eight. In the popular vote — Labour won 51.3% and National won 48.4%. The election was a straight fight between the two main parties (unlike the ), and only 8 of the 76 European electorates had more than two candidates. The Democratic Labour Party did not take part, and National absorbed many of the miscellaneous candidates and splinter movements. The European electorates divided equally and the Maori seats decided the issue. No other parties won any significant share of the vote, and no independents were elected — only 0.3% of voters did not support one of the two major parties. After Harry Atmore of Nelson died, no candidate who was not from the two main parties managed to enter Parliament until the 1966 elections, when the Social Credit Party won its first seat. Votes summary Initial MPs The table below shows the results of the 1946 general election: Key |- |colspan=8 style="background-color:#FFDEAD" | General electorates |- |- | Hauraki | style="background-color:;" | | colspan=3 style="text-align:center;background-color:;" | Andy Sutherland | style="text-align:right;" | 2,891 | style="background-color:;" | | style="text-align:center;" | John William Neate |- |- |colspan=8 style="background-color:#FFDEAD" | Māori electorates |- |} Table footnotes: Notes References November 1946 events in New Zealand