New Zealand has, in the past, been regarded as an exemplar of the Westminster system, with its "first past the post" majoritarian system. In 1996 New Zealand adopted a form of proportional representation based upon the German electoral system. The democratic change was brought about by two referenda. The cause of the change has been attributed to the fact that both major parties had broken their promises to the electorate. The actual causes run much deeper. This work sets out to explore how and why electoral reform came to ...
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New Zealand has, in the past, been regarded as an exemplar of the Westminster system, with its "first past the post" majoritarian system. In 1996 New Zealand adopted a form of proportional representation based upon the German electoral system. The democratic change was brought about by two referenda. The cause of the change has been attributed to the fact that both major parties had broken their promises to the electorate. The actual causes run much deeper. This work sets out to explore how and why electoral reform came to be on the political agenda, analyzing both the process involved, and evaluating the outcome.
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