Whanganui electorate
At the 2023 election, Carl Bates (National) won Whanganui by 5,417 votes. Whanganui's boundaries changed in 2025, and the 2026 result appears here once it is called. Whanganui is a general electorate covering 11,219 km², with about 90,543 residents (Stats NZ estimate, June 2025). It is mostly in the Manawatū-Whanganui and Taranaki regions.
Land area
11,219 km²
2025 boundaries
Residents
90,543
Stats NZ estimate, June 2025
2023 turnout
78.4%
39,423 votes from 50,286 enrolled
2026 result
Results appear here from 7pm on election night, Saturday 7 November 2026.
See Whanganui on the electorate map → · Nationwide results →
2023 result
Carl Bates (National) won by 5,417 votes, ahead of Steph Lewis (Labour). This is the result for the electorate of the same name on the previous boundaries, which changed in 2025.
| Party | 2023 party vote |
|---|---|
| National | 37.0% |
| Labour | 27.9% |
| NZ First | 11.4% |
| ACT | 9.5% |
| Greens | 7.6% |
| Te Pāti Māori | 1.5% |
| Opportunity | 1.2% |
Local jobs
Filled jobs in the regions Whanganui mostly sits in, from Stats NZ’s monthly employment indicators. The figures are for the whole region, not just this electorate.
| Region | Filled jobs | vs a year earlier | Month |
|---|---|---|---|
| Manawatū-Whanganui | 112,309 | +0.9% | September 2026 |
| Taranaki | 54,387 | +0.1% | September 2026 |
Questions people ask
Who is the MP for Whanganui?
At the 2023 election, Carl Bates (National) won Whanganui by 5,417 votes. Whanganui's boundaries changed in 2025, and the 2026 result appears here once it is called.
How big is the Whanganui electorate?
Whanganui is a general electorate covering 11,219 km², with about 90,543 residents (Stats NZ estimate, June 2025). It is mostly in the Manawatū-Whanganui and Taranaki regions.
What was the turnout in Whanganui?
In 2023, 39,423 of 50,286 enrolled voters in the electorate of that name voted, a turnout of 78.4%.
Sources: boundaries and land area from the Representation Commission’s 2025 review via Stats NZ; residents from Stats NZ’s population grid at 30 June 2025; 2023 results and turnout from the Electoral Commission; 2026 results from the Electoral Commission’s preliminary and official results; filled jobs from Stats NZ Monthly Employment Indicators (CC BY 4.0). Purely informational and not endorsed by any party.