The Royal Commission on the Electoral System was formed in

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 coun ...

in 1985 and reported in 1986. The decision to form the Royal Commission was taken by the

Fourth Labour government The Fourth Labour Government of New Zealand governed New Zealand from 26 July 1984 to 2 November 1990. It was the first Labour government to win a second consecutive term since the First Labour Government of 1935 to 1949. The policy agenda o ...

, after the Labour Party had received more votes, yet it won fewer seats than the National Party in both the

1978 Events January * January 1 – Air India Flight 855, a Boeing 747 passenger jet, crashes off the coast of Bombay, killing 213. * January 5 – Bülent Ecevit, of CHP, forms the new government of Turkey (42nd government). * January 6 ...

and

1981 Events January * January 1 ** Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union. ** Palau becomes a self-governing territory. * January 10 – Salvadoran Civil War: The FMLN launches its first major offensiv ...

elections. It was also a reaction to the power displayed by

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is ...

Robert Muldoon Sir Robert David Muldoon (; 25 September 19215 August 1992) was a New Zealand politician who served as the 31st Prime Minister of New Zealand, from 1975 to 1984, while leader of the National Party. Serving as a corporal and sergeant in th ...

, whose action of illegally abolishing the Superannuation scheme in 1975 without any repercussions highlighted the need to distribute power in a more democratic way. The Royal Commission's report ''Towards a Better Democracy'' was instrumental in effecting New Zealand to change its electoral system from

first-past-the-post In a first-past-the-post electoral system (FPTP or FPP), formally called single-member plurality voting (SMP) when used in single-member districts or informally choose-one voting in contrast to ranked voting, or score voting, voters cast the ...

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 ...

Membership

The Royal Commission consisted of #The Hon. Justice John Wallace QC (Chairman) # John Darwin #

Kenneth Keith Sir Kenneth James Keith (born 19 November 1937) is a New Zealand judge. He was elected to the International Court of Justice in November 2005, serving a nine-year term during the years 2006 through 2015. Keith was educated at the Auckland Gra ...

# Richard Mulgan #

Whetumarama Wereta Whetumarama Wereta (Whetu Wereta, née Rolleston) is a Māori political scientist and statistician from Lower Hutt, New Zealand. She belongs to the Ngāi Te Rangi and Ngāti Ranginui iwis. Wereta has served as the Mäori representative on several ...

(

Māori Māori or Maori can refer to: Relating to the Māori people * Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group * Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand * Māori culture * Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the Co ...

representative)

Criteria

The Royal Commission established ten criteria for choosing an electoral system. The criteria were not weighed equally by the commission, and a balance was sought. 1. Fairness between political parties ::The number of seats in the House should roughly reflect the number of votes received 2. Effective representation of minority and special interest groups ::The membership of Parliament should reflect the divisions of society 3. Effective Māori representation ::Māori should be fairly and effectively represented in House ::Treaty of Waitangi & aboriginal rights should be respected 4. Political Integration ::All groups should respect views taken by others in society 5. Effective representation of constituents ::An electoral system should encourage close links and accountability to the community 6. Effective voter participation ::The voting system should be understandable ::Power should be hands of voters to make/unmake governments 7. Effective government ::Governments should be able to act decisively and fulfil their responsibilities to their voters 8. Effective Parliament ::Parliament should be independent from government control ::Parliament should be able to authorise spending and taxation as well as legislate 9. Effective parties ::Political parties should be formulating policy and providing representation 10. Legitimacy ::Fair and reasonable to the community The Commission evaluated

single transferable vote Single transferable vote (STV) is a multi-winner electoral system in which voters cast a single vote in the form of a ranked-choice ballot. Voters have the option to rank candidates, and their vote may be transferred according to alternate p ...

, Supplementary Member,

Alternative Vote Instant-runoff voting (IRV) is a type of Ranked voting, ranked preferential Electoral system, voting method. It uses a Majority rule, majority voting rule in single-winner elections where there are more than two candidates. It is commonly referr ...

and

Recommendations

# The Commission unanimously recommended the adoption of

, with a threshold of 4% and that a referendum be held before or at the 1987 election. # They also recommended that the

Māori electorates In New Zealand politics, Māori electorates, colloquially known as the Māori seats, are a special category of electorate that give reserved positions to representatives of Māori in the New Zealand Parliament. Every area in New Zealand is ...

be abolished, with Māori parties instead receiving representation if they did not pass the threshold. # That the number of MPs raise to 120 (although they considered 140 would be ideal, they realised that it would receive too much public backlash). # The term of Parliament be raised to four years. # The Commission recommended that citizens initiated referendums ''not'' be implemented. However, they were in 1993.

Implementation

In 1992 and 1993, two referendums were held, resulting in the adoption of MMP. The threshold was changed to 5% and the Māori electorates were retained instead of allowing Māori parties to avoid the threshold. The number of MPs was increased to 120. A referendum was held on increasing the term of Parliament to four years in 1990. It failed to pass; Parliament continues operating under a three-year term.

References

{{Reflist

External links