Changes Mid-term
In the 1993 election, the National Party and the Labour Party had won 50 and 45 seats, respectively. The Alliance and the New Zealand First party had each won two seats. In the approach to MMP, however, there had been considerable rearrangement in parliament, with three new parties being established. As such, the situation just before the 1996 election was markedly different from the situation that had been established at the 1993 election.
| Party | Won at 1993 election | By time of 1996 election | Reasons for change |
| National | 50 | 41 | Defection of 9 MPs |
| Labour | 45 | 41 | Defection of 4 MPs |
| United | - | 7 | Formed by 4 former National MPs and 3 former Labour MPs |
| NZ First | 2 | 5 | Initial MPs joined by 2 former National MPs and one former Labour MP |
| Alliance | 2 | 2 | No change |
| Conservative | - | 1 | Founded by 2 former National MPs; one later became an independent |
| Christian Democrats | - | 1 | Founded by a former National MP |
| Independents | - | 1 | Ross Meurant, a former National (and briefly Conservative) MP |
Read more about this topic: New Zealand General Election, 1996