The Chief Electoral Office of

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

was a government office that was responsible for conducting

general elections A general election is a political voting election where generally all or most members of a given political body are chosen. These are usually held for a nation, state, or territory's primary legislative body, and are different from by-elections ( ...

by-elections A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, a bye-election in Ireland, a bypoll in India, or a Zimni election (Urdu: ضمنی انتخاب, supplementary election) in Pakistan, is an election used to f ...

and

referendums A referendum (plural: referendums or less commonly referenda) is a direct vote by the electorate on a proposal, law, or political issue. This is in contrast to an issue being voted on by a representative. This may result in the adoption of a ...

. It was disestablished in 2010 and replaced with the New Zealand Electoral Commission.

History

The Chief Electoral Office was part of the

Ministry of Justice A Ministry of Justice is a common type of government department that serves as a justice ministry. Lists of current ministries of justice Named "Ministry" * Ministry of Justice (Abkhazia) * Ministry of Justice (Afghanistan) * Ministry of Just ...

. Along with the previous Electoral Commission and the Electoral Enrolment Centre managed by

New Zealand Post NZ Post ( mi, Tukurau Aotearoa), shortened from New Zealand Post, is a state-owned enterprise responsible for providing postal service in New Zealand. The New Zealand Post Office, a government agency, provided postal, banking, and telecommunica ...

, it was one of three government bodies charged with overseeing elections. The duties of the Chief Electoral Office included employing

returning officer In various parliamentary systems, a returning officer is responsible for overseeing elections in one or more constituencies. Australia In Australia a returning officer is an employee of the Australian Electoral Commission or a state electoral c ...

s for New Zealand's electorates (the boundaries of which were drawn every five years by a fourth electoral body, the Representation Commission). The Office also received returns of donations and election expenses from parliamentary candidates, and provided information to voters, candidates and parties relating to electoral events.

Disestablishment

The Electoral (Administration) Amendment Bill was passed in 2010 and established a new independent

Electoral Commission An election commission is a body charged with overseeing the implementation of electioneering process of any country. The formal names of election commissions vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction, and may be styled an electoral commission, a c ...

which took over the responsibilities of the Chief Electoral Office and the previous Electoral Commission. The Chief Electoral Officer of the Chief Electoral Office, Robert Peden (who had served in this role since 2006), was appointed to be the first Chief Electoral Officer of the new Electoral Commission.

References

{{Authority control Elections in New Zealand Former government agencies of New Zealand Election and voting-related organizations 2010 disestablishments in New Zealand

History

Disestablishment

See also

References