So MMP. What’s that all about? Well for those who have misplaced my handy cut-out-and-keep guide from 2017, MMP is New Zealand’s democratic process that’s what.. and according to Wikipedia...
“Under MMP, New Zealand voters have two votes. The first vote is the electorate vote. It determines the local representative for that electorate (geographic electoral district). The electorate vote works on a plurality system whereby whichever candidate gets the greatest number of votes in each electorate wins the seat. The second vote is the party vote. This determines the number of seats each party is entitled to overall – in other words, the proportionality of the House.
There are two thresholds in the New Zealand MMP system. The first is that any Party which receives 5% or more of the Party vote is entitled to a share of the nominally 120 seats in the House of Representatives – even if the Party does not win a single electorate seat. For instance in the 2008 elections, the Greens failed to win any electorate seats but won 6.7% of the party vote and thereby earned nine seats in Parliament.
The second threshold is that any Party that wins one or more electorate seats is entitled to an additional share of the nominally 120 seats in House of Representatives based on the percentage of the party vote – even if it doesn't win 5% of the vote.“
Well I'm glad that’s cleared that up then. Let's see if I can do any better....
Simply put, the number of votes cast for a particular party determines, more or less, how many seats they get in the House of Representatives but the minimum entry is 5% of the vote.
See, wasn't my version much easier to understand!
Anyway it’s election night and we’re sat outside at our local bar watching the live feed on TV. Democracy, beer and the goat outdoors. Could this be the perfect combination? To be fair, it’s fairly quiet. Just us, a couple sat a few tables away deep in animated conversation and a birthday party table. Well I assume it’s a birthday party judging by the balloons and other celebratory paraphernalia. I could, of course, be wrong and but I think my instincts are right on the button.
It’s been a funny old election campaign. Postponed by a month by the pandemic but still somewhat overshadowed by it all. Polls were published, talked about, debunked and praised. Charts, tables and what-ifs dominated the pages of New Zealand’s media. Had the Jacinda bubble burst? Would Covid-19 be kept at bay until Election Day and could Judith Collins keep on message? No. Yes and god no.
On that latter point, Judith Collins seemed to really go off the rails in the last week, accusing fat people of being lazy and having a pop at Tasmania. No-one really knew why and it remains to be seen whether this had any impact on the outcome of the election. Actually it probably won't. Not because the remarks were offensive, because they certainly were, but because voting actually started two weeks ago. You see, rather than ask the entire population trudge down to a polling station on a single day, the polls are open for two weeks in New Zealand. It means that you can pick a day that suits you best, including weekends, and fit the democratic process around whatever hectic schedule you undoubtedly have. Or wait for the weather to improve. Who said democracy had to be hard work.
And it seems to work. As of yesterday, 1.7m had voted in advance. Okay that might not seem a lot but to put it in perspective, it represents nearly half of all registered voters. And it's not just the early voting that is helped by a longer polling period, it also helps overall turnout. Last year nearly 80% of eligible voters made their mark.
I hope this is all making sense so far. I'm two pints to the good so I'm not so sure anymore. Not that I make much sense at the best of times....
Back home and the chilli is on and the wine is chilling. A chilly fest if you like. It's been a while since we watched live TV and it a revelation. Plus we don't know the outcome yet. But really we do. It all seems to be going really well for Labour with the numbers far exceeding both expectations and the polls. It could be a disastrous night for the National Party, or so the pundits in the studio tell us. Only time will tell.....
Well that was a bit one sided and not at all exciting. Being a Boro fan I'm much more at home with a nail biting finish, and one that usually ends in crushing disappointment. Leading from the start and finishing even further in front when the whistle goes just doesn't seem right to me. What happened to the mid-game slump? Where were the unforced errors? And how come no-one got sent off? Not at all satisfying.
Never mind, with the New Zealand election cycle only being three years, there will soon be another opportunity to experience the thrill and excitement of Election Night.
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