From Westminster Plurality to Continental Proportionality: Electoral System Change in New Zealand

2004 ◽  
pp. 145-156
Author(s):  
Peter Aimer
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Electoral System ◽  
System Change

scholarly journals Electoral System Change, Generations, Competitiveness and Turnout in New Zealand, 1963–2005

2010 ◽  
Vol 40 (4) ◽  
pp. 875-895 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jack Vowles
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Empirical Evidence ◽  
Generational Differences ◽  
Electoral Competition ◽  
National Level ◽  
Electoral System ◽  
System Change ◽  
Negative Effects ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Lag Effects

In 1996, New Zealand changed its electoral system from single-member plurality (SMP) to a Mixed Member Proportional (MMP) system. This article addresses the effects on turnout of electoral system change, generational differences and national and district-level competitiveness. Both theory and cross-sectional empirical evidence indicate that turnout should be higher after the change to MMP. Yet turnout has declined. Most of this turns out to be an effect of lag effects generated by longer-term trends of declining competition, and generational experiences. MMP has shifted the main focus of electoral competition from the district to the national level, with consequent changes in turnout distribution. Electoral boundary changes also have negative effects under MMP, and most MMP elections have taken place after an electoral redistribution.

Electoral-system change in Latvia and the elections of 2010

2011 ◽  
Vol 44 (4) ◽  
pp. 309-318 ◽  
Author(s):  
Frances Millard
Keyword(s):  
Political Parties ◽  
Unique Feature ◽  
Political Process ◽  
Electoral System ◽  
System Change ◽  
Large Measure ◽  
Preference System ◽  
Electoral Law ◽  
Multiple Constituencies

Latvia’s highly distinctive proportional electoral system owes its origins to Latvia’s 1922 Constitution and the new democracy’s electoral legislation of 1919 and 1922. Latvia’s unique feature lies in its preference system, offering the voters the opportunity to judge each candidate on their party’s list. Although the system appears to maximise responsiveness to voters’ preferences, in practice this promise remained unfulfilled and the representative quality of parliament was questionable. This was in large measure because of the capacity of candidates to stand in multiple constituencies. In 2009 amendments to the electoral law altered this key provision. This change clearly made a difference, but it could not resolve fundamental problems of Latvia’s political process in general and its political parties in particular.

New Zealand

2021 ◽  
pp. 613-632
Author(s):  
Moritz Osnabrügge
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Ethnic Minorities ◽  
Empirical Analysis ◽  
Electoral System ◽  
Party Leaders ◽  
Parliamentary Debates ◽  
Female Politicians ◽  
The Empirical Analysis

This chapter studies debate participation in New Zealand’s parliament from 1996 to 2002. New Zealand has a mixed-member proportional electoral system and a multiparty system. Its parliamentary rules and procedures give parties considerable control over the allocation of speaking time in debates and questions during question times. The empirical analysis, based on 125,088 speeches, studies the number of speeches that parliamentarians delivered and the number of words they spoke during two legislative periods. I find that ministers and party leaders participate significantly more and use more words in parliamentary debates than other parliamentarians. I also show that female politicians and ethnic minorities are less likely to participate.

The New Zealand Print Media and the 2004-2007 Local Elections: A Case Study

2015 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
pp. 897-914
Author(s):  
Jacky Yaakov Zvulun
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Voter Turnout ◽  
News Media ◽  
Media Coverage ◽  
Print Media ◽  
Electoral System ◽  
National Election ◽  
Local Elections ◽  
Political Processes

Voters gain their information from news media, and in particular from print media, about politicians. More importantly, voters develop their understanding of political processes based on what they read. In this paper, I examine the print media coverage of the campaign introducing new electoral system Single Transferable Vote (STV) in the New Zealand Local Body Elections 2004 and 2007 compared with the campaign introducing Mixed Member Proportional (MMP) electoral system in the 1996 national election. I focus particularly on the coverage of the alternative electoral system, STV, by two newspapers – the Dominion Post and the Otago Daily Times from the perspective of type, nature, and number of the articles published and the attitudes toward encouraging participation and introducing new electoral system [STV]. The study shows that both newspapers offered a significantly poorer coverage of the 2004 and 2007 local elections compared to the campaign in 1996 national election. This also might lead to the prediction of one of the reason decreasing or increasing voter turnout.

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