The Electoral Act 1993 is an
Act of the
New Zealand Parliament
The New Zealand Parliament ( mi, Pāremata Aotearoa) is the unicameral legislature of New Zealand, consisting of the King of New Zealand ( King-in-Parliament) and the New Zealand House of Representatives. The King is usually represented by h ...
for regulating
elections in New Zealand
New Zealand is a representative democracy in which members of the unicameralism, unicameral New Zealand Parliament gain their legislative seat, seats through elections. General elections are usually held every three years; they may be held at ...
. It "establishes the electoral agencies, electoral system, election processes (including that for disputing results), how MPs are replaced between elections, registration processes for political parties and logos, enrolment and electoral roll requirements, and provides for the Māori Electoral option, and the Representation Commission." One such agency is the
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 is responsible, among other things, for the administration of parliamentary elections and referendums.
The Electoral Act forms part of the
constitution of New Zealand
The constitution of New Zealand is the sum of laws and principles that determine the political governance of New Zealand. Unlike many other nations, New Zealand has no single constitutional document. It is an uncodified constitution, sometimes ...
. The regulations made under the Act contain most of New Zealand's electoral legislation.
The Act defined
mixed-member proportional
Mixed-member proportional representation (MMP or MMPR) is a mixed electoral system in which votes cast are considered in local elections and also to determine overall party vote tallies, which are used to allocate additional members to produce ...
(MMP) representation for use in the
1993 electoral referendum
Electoral reform in New Zealand has, in recent years, become a political issue as major changes have been made to both parliamentary and local government electoral systems.
National elections in New Zealand were first held in 1853 using the basic ...
, and it established MMP as the
electoral system
An electoral system or voting system is a set of rules that determine how elections and Referendum, referendums are conducted and how their results are determined. Electoral systems are used in politics to elect governments, while non-political ...
for the
1996 general election.
See also
*
Broadcasting Standards Authority
The Broadcasting Standards Authority (BSA; mi, Te Mana Whanonga Kaipāho) is a New Zealand Crown entity created by the Broadcasting Act 1989 to develop and uphold standards of broadcasting for radio, free-to-air and pay television.
The main f ...
*
2005 New Zealand election funding controversy
The 2005 New Zealand election funding controversy occurred in the aftermath of the 2005 New Zealand general election.
Under New Zealand's political system, parties may only spend, during the 90 days before the election, up to a certain amount on c ...
*
New Zealand Electoral Commission
The Electoral Commission ( mi, Te Kaitiaki Take Kōwhiri) is an independent Crown entity set up by the New Zealand Parliament. It is responsible for the administration of parliamentary elections and referendums, promoting compliance with elect ...
*
Constitution Act 1986 § Entrenchment
References
{{reflist
External links
New Zealand Electoral Commission's website
1993 in New Zealand law
Statutes of New Zealand
Constitution of New Zealand