1871 was the first general election to include the four
Māori electorates, 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 earliest election day was 14 January 1871. The last election was held on 23 February 1871 in the
Franklin electorate. 68 European electorates and 4 Māori electorates were defined by the Representation Act 1870. Six of the general electorates had two representatives, the rest were single member electorates. Hence, 78 MPs were elected. Electorates that were first formed for the 1871 elections were , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , and . 41,527 electors were registered. ==Results==