Royal Commission on the Electoral System

The Royal Commission on the Electoral System was formed in New Zealand in 1985, and reported in 1986. The decision to form the Royal Commission was taken by the Fourth Labour government, after the Labour party had received more votes, yet won fewer seats than the National Party in both the 1978 and 1981 elections. 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 to mixed member proportional.

The Royal Commission consisted of

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

2. Effective representation of minority and special interest groups

3. Effective Māori representation

4. Political Integration

5. Effective representation of constituents

6. Effective voter participation

7. Effective government

8. Effective Parliament

9. Effective parties

10. Legitimacy

The Commission evaluated first-past-the-post, single transferable vote, Supplementary Member, Alternative Vote and mixed member proportional.

In 1992 and 1993, two referendums were held, resulting in the adoption of MMP. The threshold was changed to 5% and the Māori seats were retained instead of allowing Māori parties to avoid the threshold. The number of MPs was increased to 120.

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