2019 Patagonian general election

2019 Patagonian general election

31 October 2019 (2019-10-31)
All 128 seats in the House of Assembly 65 seats needed for a majority 21 (of the 63) seats in the Senate
Turnout	75.95% ( 2.35pp)
First party Second party   Leader Albert Ferguson Rhys MacRae Party Labour National Leader since 8 May 2016 24 January 2012 Leader's seat Roche South East Saint George Last election 48 seats, 37.6% 68 seats, 44.8% Seats won 64 56 Seat change 16 12  vote 1,195,093 1,034,740 Percentage 46.6% 40.4% Swing 9.0 pp 4.4 pp   Third party Fourth party   Leader Thomas Masser Nicholas Cane Party Reform Democrats Leader since 3 February 2008 1 May 2011 Leader's seat Sandy Point East Cordova South (defeated) Last election 6 seats, 7.7% 5 seats, 8.9% Seats won 4 2 Seat change 2 3  vote 187,828 76,544 Percentage 7.3% 3.0% Swing 0.4 pp 5.9 pp
Prime Minister before election Rhys MacRae National Elected Prime Minister Albert Ferguson Labour

The 2019 Patagonian general election was held on Thursday 31 October 2019, four years after the previous general election in 2015. The election resulted in a hung parliament where no party was able to command a majority in the House of Assembly. This was only the second general election since the Second World War to return a hung parliament, the first being the March 1973 election.

Opinion polls had consistently shown strong leads for the official opposition Labour Party, led by Albert Ferguson, over the incumbent National Party, led by Prime Minister Rhys MacRae. From an 18-point lead, Labour's lead began to diminish in the final weeks of the campaign. In a surprising result, Labour fell a single seat short of a majority; a strong majority of between 10 and 20 seats had been predicted.

Having lost his majority and suffered considerable losses, MacRae announced his resignation as Prime Minister and National Party leader on 1 November. Later that same day, Ferguson announced he would seek to form a minority government. After discussion with opposition parties to ensure a Speech from the Throne would pass, Ferguson was appointed Prime Minister by Governor-General Claudia Leadsom on 15 November 2019.