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Beyond™

Beyond™ Election Guide

The 2026 election, in plain numbers.

Every poll, every costed promise and the country's debt, side by side for all the parties, with a source for each number. Read it, then make up your own mind.

Where the parties sit now
Average of the 4 polls that finished between 12/10/2026 and 26/10/2026. The dashed line is the 5% a party needs to get list seats without winning an electorate.

Source: Opinion polling for the 2026 New Zealand general election (Wikipedia), linking each pollster's release. Checked 29/10/2026. Each poll counts once, whatever its size. Every poll has a margin of error of about 3 points.

See every poll
Who could form a government?
Seats each side would win in the latest polls. In each of these, neither side reaches a majority on its own, which would leave Opportunity holding the balance. National has ruled out working with Opportunity.
  • RNZ–Reid Research, 20-26 Oct: 120 seats, so 61 for a majority. National, ACT and NZ First 54; Labour, Green and Te Pāti Māori 57; Opportunity 9.
  • 1 News–Verian, 21-25 Oct: 125 seats, so 63 for a majority. National, ACT and NZ First 61; Labour, Green and Te Pāti Māori 55; Opportunity 8.
  • 1 News–Verian, 15-19 Oct: 124 seats, so 63 for a majority. National, ACT and NZ First 60; Labour, Green and Te Pāti Māori 55; Opportunity 8.
  • The Post/Freshwater Strategy, 9-19 Oct: 122 seats, so 62 for a majority. National, ACT and NZ First 59; Labour, Green and Te Pāti Māori 56; Opportunity 7.

Source: Opinion polling for the 2026 New Zealand general election (Wikipedia), linking each pollster's release. Checked 29/10/2026. Projections assume today's electorate seats are held. When a party wins more electorates than its party vote earns, Parliament grows past 120 and the majority line moves up with it.

Key dates

From the Electoral Commission's official timetable.

  1. 21/01/2026

    Done

    Election date announced

    The Prime Minister named Saturday 7 November.

  2. 07/08/2026

    Done

    Regulated period starts

    Spending limits for election advertising apply from here.

  3. 01/10/2026

    Done

    Parliament dissolved

    The official end of the parliamentary term.

  4. 04/10/2026

    Done

    Writ day

    The Governor-General tells the Electoral Commission to hold the election.

  5. 08/10/2026

    Done

    Nominations close

    Noon deadline for party lists and candidates.

  6. 21/10/2026

    Done

    Overseas voting starts

  7. 25/10/2026

    Done

    Last day to enrol

    You can no longer enrol and vote on the same day.

  8. 26/10/2026

    Done

    Advance voting starts

    Vote early at any voting place. No campaigning within 10 metres of one.

  9. 06/11/2026

    Advance voting ends

    Last day of campaigning; signs come down by midnight.

  10. 07/11/2026

    Election day

    Election day

    Voting places open 9am to 7pm. Preliminary results from 7pm.

  11. 27/11/2026

    Official results declared

  12. 03/12/2026

    Last day for the return of the writ

    Subject to any recounts.

Source: Electoral Commission, key information and dates. Checked 29/10/2026.

Explore the guide

Polls

Every party vote poll this year, the preferred prime minister and whether people think the country is on the right track.

Parties and promises

What each party says it will do, what the costed promises add up to and what it would take to deliver them.

Debt and the world

Treasury's numbers on debt and the deficit, a calculator to test promises against them, and the trade deals and conflicts shaping it.

Have your say

Quick polls on the issues and on who you think would do best, and a place to comment. Sign in, be kind.

Watch and read

Debates and reporting worth your time, picked from across New Zealand media. Each one opens on the original site; the summaries are ours.

Official places to go

Beyond's maths

The averages on this guide are a plain mean of every poll in the 14 days up to the latest one, so a pollster that polls often counts more often. They are a summary of what has been published, not a prediction. We update the polls as new ones come out; last updated 29/10/2026.

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