Referendum on voting system
By Kim Linden
UCKLAND — There are two votes for New Zealanders on November 6, one to elect a government and the other to decide how governments are elected in the future.
The choice in the referendum is between the existing first past the post (FPP) system and a mixed member proportional (MMP) system advocated by the Royal Commission on Electoral Reform.
New Zealand has only one house of parliament, the House of Representatives with 99 members. Under FPP New Zealanders have one vote, for a local candidate. The party that wins the most seats forms the government.
This is a simple but unfair system. In 1981 a party known as Social Credit got 21% of the vote but only two seats. In 1990 the National Party got less than half the vote but two-thirds of the seats. It is often the voters in marginal seats who have the power to decide governments, which means the votes of a small part of the population are more effective than the rest.
Under MMP there will be two votes: one for the local candidate and one for the party. Electors if they wish can vote for their party and at the same time vote for another candidate they feel would make a better MP for their district. This should result in a parliament made up of people electors wanted to vote for and help end "safe" seats.
Votes for the local candidates are counted, and the person with the most electoral votes becomes MP. Party votes will also be counted but will go into a national pool for each party. Each party's vote will be calculated as a percentage of the total party vote. This percentage determines the number of seats a party will receive.
An MMP parliament will have a total of 120 seats. Sixty will be electorate seats (electorates will be larger), four will be Maori seats and 56 will be party list seats.
Critics of MMP have claimed that smaller parties will have too much power and could hold the balance of power. But before a party can qualify for any seats in parliament — other than those won in electorates — it needs around 100,000 votes.
It is possible for a party with comparatively few seats to hold the balance of power under MMP. But if this did occur, it could prevent the governing party ignoring minority opinion and pushing legislation through as happens at present. Undeniably, there is greater scope for smaller parties to have a say under an MMP system. This will mean a more representative parliament and reduce the likelihood of it being dominated by the two parties.
The Alliance fully backs MMP and is urging voters to say "yes" on November 6.