INCREASING
DEMOCRACY THROUGH ELECTORAL REFORM: EVIDENCE FROM NEW
ZEALAND
Abstract
In 1996, New Zealand moved from a First Past the Post to a Mixed Member Proportional electoral system. This paper evaluates the effect this move had in terms of increasing the levels of democracy in New Zealand. It focuses on a number of areas: democracy and political culture, the details of the New Zealand electoral system, the prospects of further reforms and the lessons that Britain could learn from the example of New Zealand.
The main argument of the paper is that the introduction of proportionality into the electoral system results in increased levels of democracy in terms of participation and representation for the electorate and in establishing the legitimacy of the government to govern those who elected them.
