Five things Kiwi-Indians must know about NZ’s MMP voting system
Elections are an integral part of any democracy, and indeed, New Zealand is a vibrant democracy where general elections are held every three years whereby people cast their vote and elect those whom they think are fit enough to form the next government.
With next general elections just around the corner and voting due on Saturday, September 23, it is an opportune time for everyone, especially members of the Kiwi-Indian community to update their understanding of New Zealand’s electoral system.
There could be a number of reasons for everyone to update their understanding of the electoral system in New Zealand, purely because a majority of members in the community are relatively recent migrants with a possibility of arriving from different countries that may have a different system of governance.
The fact that in this next election in New Zealand one could cast their vote almost two weeks before actual election day as a part of advance voting could be a revelation for many in the community as something never experienced before in their former countries of residence. This year advance voting opens on Monday, September 12.
Similarly, NZ’s Mixed Member Proportional (MMP) System where every voter gets two votes, one for the electoral candidate that they want to send to the parliament, and one for the political party that they want to represent them in the parliament, could be a new concept for many in the community.
It is different from First Past the Post system
MMP System is different from the common but not universal first past the post system where every voter gets one vote – candidate vote – and the candidate who receives most votes wins.
As opposed to this in New Zealand’s MMP system is a proportional system, which means that the proportion of votes a party gets will largely reflect the number of seats it has in the parliament.
Each voter gets two votes.
The first vote is for the political party the voter chooses. This is called the party vote and largely decides the total number of seats each political party gets in Parliament.
The second vote is to choose the MP the voter wants to represent the electorate they live in. This is called the electorate vote. The candidate who gets the most votes wins. They do not have to get more than half the votes.
It started in NZ in 1996.
In 1993 New Zealanders voted in a referendum to change their voting system from the traditional first past the post (FPP) method to Mixed Member Proportional representation (MMP). Many experts consider this as the most dramatic change to the country's electoral system since the introduction of women's suffrage exactly 100 years before.
Apparently, the objective was to bring more proportional representation in which each party's share of the seats in parliament would be close to its share of the overall vote.
How does it work?
Under current MMP rules, a political party that wins at least one electorate seat OR 5 per cent of the party vote gets a share of the seats in Parliament that is about the same as its share of the party vote.
For example, if a party gets 30 per cent of the party vote it will get roughly 36 MPs in Parliament (being 30 per cent of 120 seats). It is to say that if that party wins 20 electorate seats it will have 16 List MPs in addition to its 20 Electorate MPs.
What does it mean for voters?
Under this system, voters have wider options to choose their respective electoral candidate whom they want to represent in the parliament and also separately chose the political party to represent them in the parliament if their choices differ on the candidate and the political party.
Out of a total of 120 Members of Parliament (MPs), there are 71 electorates, including the seven Maori electorates.
One MP is elected in each electorate – these are the 71 Electorate MPs, and the other 49 MPs are elected from political party lists and are called List MPs.
What does it mean for political parties?
Since total party votes determine the number of seats a political party will have eventually in a parliament; therefore political parties have greater incentive to reach out to voters regardless of the region or seats they represent so as to increase their total number of votes and hence increase their chances of forming the government.
The smaller political parties, with nascent history, financial resources and appropriate presence around the country get a fair chance to try their luck in elections thus bring more options on the table for the voters.
Elections are an integral part of any democracy, and indeed, New Zealand is a vibrant democracy where general elections are held every three years whereby people cast their vote and elect those whom they think are fit enough to form the next government.
With next general elections just around the...
Elections are an integral part of any democracy, and indeed, New Zealand is a vibrant democracy where general elections are held every three years whereby people cast their vote and elect those whom they think are fit enough to form the next government.
With next general elections just around the corner and voting due on Saturday, September 23, it is an opportune time for everyone, especially members of the Kiwi-Indian community to update their understanding of New Zealand’s electoral system.
There could be a number of reasons for everyone to update their understanding of the electoral system in New Zealand, purely because a majority of members in the community are relatively recent migrants with a possibility of arriving from different countries that may have a different system of governance.
The fact that in this next election in New Zealand one could cast their vote almost two weeks before actual election day as a part of advance voting could be a revelation for many in the community as something never experienced before in their former countries of residence. This year advance voting opens on Monday, September 12.
Similarly, NZ’s Mixed Member Proportional (MMP) System where every voter gets two votes, one for the electoral candidate that they want to send to the parliament, and one for the political party that they want to represent them in the parliament, could be a new concept for many in the community.
It is different from First Past the Post system
MMP System is different from the common but not universal first past the post system where every voter gets one vote – candidate vote – and the candidate who receives most votes wins.
As opposed to this in New Zealand’s MMP system is a proportional system, which means that the proportion of votes a party gets will largely reflect the number of seats it has in the parliament.
Each voter gets two votes.
The first vote is for the political party the voter chooses. This is called the party vote and largely decides the total number of seats each political party gets in Parliament.
The second vote is to choose the MP the voter wants to represent the electorate they live in. This is called the electorate vote. The candidate who gets the most votes wins. They do not have to get more than half the votes.
It started in NZ in 1996.
In 1993 New Zealanders voted in a referendum to change their voting system from the traditional first past the post (FPP) method to Mixed Member Proportional representation (MMP). Many experts consider this as the most dramatic change to the country's electoral system since the introduction of women's suffrage exactly 100 years before.
Apparently, the objective was to bring more proportional representation in which each party's share of the seats in parliament would be close to its share of the overall vote.
How does it work?
Under current MMP rules, a political party that wins at least one electorate seat OR 5 per cent of the party vote gets a share of the seats in Parliament that is about the same as its share of the party vote.
For example, if a party gets 30 per cent of the party vote it will get roughly 36 MPs in Parliament (being 30 per cent of 120 seats). It is to say that if that party wins 20 electorate seats it will have 16 List MPs in addition to its 20 Electorate MPs.
What does it mean for voters?
Under this system, voters have wider options to choose their respective electoral candidate whom they want to represent in the parliament and also separately chose the political party to represent them in the parliament if their choices differ on the candidate and the political party.
Out of a total of 120 Members of Parliament (MPs), there are 71 electorates, including the seven Maori electorates.
One MP is elected in each electorate – these are the 71 Electorate MPs, and the other 49 MPs are elected from political party lists and are called List MPs.
What does it mean for political parties?
Since total party votes determine the number of seats a political party will have eventually in a parliament; therefore political parties have greater incentive to reach out to voters regardless of the region or seats they represent so as to increase their total number of votes and hence increase their chances of forming the government.
The smaller political parties, with nascent history, financial resources and appropriate presence around the country get a fair chance to try their luck in elections thus bring more options on the table for the voters.
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