---
title: "First Women's Suffrage Election"
year: 1893
country: "New Zealand"
canonical: "https://recap.at/1893/new-zealand-womens-suffrage"
slug: "new-zealand-womens-suffrage"
recapType: "global_event"
startDate: "1893-01-01"
---

# First Women's Suffrage Election

> New Zealand became the first nation to grant women the vote, a watershed moment in democratic participation and a catalyst for suffrage movements worldwide.

On September 19, 1893, New Zealand became the first nation to grant women the right to vote in a general election. The Electoral Act of that year extended suffrage to all women over 21, making the country a global outlier and setting a precedent that would influence women's movements worldwide for decades.

## Summary

The First Women's League of Republika Srpska in basketball (Serbian: Прва женска лига Републике Српске у кошарци, Prva ženska liga Republike Srpske u košarci), known as the Meridianbet Prva ženska liga RS for sponsorship reasons, is a professional women's basketball competition held in Republika Srpska, an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

## Key facts

- **Date of Electoral Act passage**: September 19, 1893
- **Voting age requirement**: 21 years old
- **First general election with women voters**: 1896
- **Key political leader**: Premier Richard Seddon
- **Years ahead of Australia**: 9 years (New Zealand 1893, Australia 1902)
- **Years ahead of Britain**: 35 years (New Zealand 1893, Britain 1928)
- **Primary advocate organization**: Women's Christian Temperance Union

## Timeline

- **1889-01-01** - Women's suffrage petition campaign begins
  Kate Sheppard and other activists launch a major petition drive demanding voting rights for women.
- **1893-08-28** - Electoral Act passes House
  The Electoral Act clearing the final parliamentary hurdle, with support from Premier Richard Seddon and the Liberal government.
- **1893-09-19** - Electoral Act receives Royal Assent
  Governor General Glasgow formally signs the Electoral Act, making women's suffrage law. New Zealand becomes the first nation to grant women full voting rights.
- **1896-11-28** - First general election with women voters
  Women vote in New Zealand's general election for the first time, with over 150,000 eligible female voters participating.
- **1902-12-03** - Australia adopts women's suffrage
  Australia follows New Zealand's lead, becoming the second nation to grant women voting rights, nine years later.

## Impact

New Zealand's decision predated women's suffrage in Australia (1902), Finland (1906), and Britain (1928) by years or decades, establishing the country as an unexpected pioneer in democratic inclusion. The victory relied on tactical political maneuvering—Premier Richard Seddon backed the measure partly to boost the Liberal Party's electoral prospects—but the outcome was irreversible and emboldened suffragists globally.

## Sources

- [First Women's League of Republika Srpska in basketball](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Women's_League_of_Republika_Srpska_in_basketball) - Wikipedia

---
Canonical: https://recap.at/1893/new-zealand-womens-suffrage