The
Electoral Commission of
New ZealandNew Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
is a governmental body responsible for administering certain aspects of the country's electoral system.
It is an independent Crown entity, not part of any larger department or
MinistryA ministry refers to a collective body of government ministers headed by a prime minister or premier. Although the term "cabinet" can in some circumstances be a synonym, a ministry can be a broader concept which might include office-holders that do not participate in cabinet meetings...
, and was established under the Electoral Act 1993. It works alongside two other bodies, the
Chief Electoral OfficeThe Chief Electoral Office of New Zealand conducts general elections, by-elections and referendums. It is part of the Ministry of Justice. In a general election year the Office employs returning officers for the 70 electorates...
and the
Electoral Enrolment CentreThe New Zealand Electoral Enrolment Centre maintains the New Zealand electoral rolls and conducts the Māori Electoral Option, which gives Māori the chance to choose between being on the Māori or general electoral roll. The centre is a self-contained business unit of New Zealand Post, under contract...
.
The four primary functions of the Electoral Commission are:
- Registration of political parties. The Commission is responsible for scrutinising and approving all changes to the electoral register. A place on the register allows parties to contest the party vote in general elections. Unregistered parties can put forward individual candidates, but cannot receive votes for proportional representation
Proportional representation is a concept in voting systems used to elect an assembly or council. PR means that the number of seats won by a party or group of candidates is proportionate to the number of votes received. For example, under a PR voting system if 30% of voters support a particular...
under the MMP system. The Commission must be satisfied that such a party meets the requirements for registration, such as having five hundred financial members.
- Allocating broadcasting funding. Political parties are given state funding for any broadcasting they conduct in an election campaign. The Commission is responsible for dividing money between the various parties, taking into account a party's membership, current number of MPs, previous election performance, and current polling. The Commission also supervises the actual payment of this funding.
- Supervision of financial declarations. to ensure transparency, parties are required to submit records showing how much money they received as donations and how much money they spent campaigning. The Commission supervises this process.
- Public education. The Commission is the primary body charged with ensuring strong public awareness of how elections in New Zealand work.
For most business, the Electoral Commission consists of four members — a President, a Chief Executive, the head of the
Ministry of JusticeThe Minister of Justice is a minister in the government of New Zealand. The minister has responsibility for the formulation of justice policy and for the administration of law courts....
, and the Chief Judge of the
Maori Land CourtThe Māori Land Court is the specialist court in New Zealand that hears matters relating to Māori land.The Māori Land Court was established in 1865 as the Native Land Court. In 1954, the name was changed to the Māori Land Court...
. Formerly, two additional members, one appointed by the Government and one by the Opposition, participated in the allocation of broadcasting funds. This participation is generally condemned by smaller parties, which claimed that
LabourThe New Zealand Labour Party is a New Zealand political party. It describes itself as centre-left and socially progressive and has been one of the two primary parties of New Zealand politics since 1935....
and
NationalThe New Zealand National Party is the largest party in the New Zealand House of Representatives and in November 2008 formed a minority government with support from three minor parties.-Policies:...
unfairly monopolised funding. These additional members were removed in 2007 by the
Electoral Finance ActThe Electoral Finance Act 2007 was a controversial act in New Zealand. The Electoral Finance Bill was introduced by the Fifth Labour Government partly in response to the 2005 New Zealand election funding controversy, in particular "third-party" campaigns....
.
The current President is
Hon. Sir Hugh WilliamsSir John "Hugh" Williams, KNZM, QC is the current President of the New Zealand Electoral Commission and a retired Judge of High Court of New Zealand....
,
KNZMThe New Zealand Order of Merit is an order established in 1996 "for those persons who in any field of endeavour, have rendered meritorious service to the Crown and nation or who have become distinguished by their eminence, talents, contributions or other merits."The order includes five...
QCQueen's Counsel , known as King's Counsel during the reign of a male sovereign, are lawyers appointed by letters patent to be one of Her [or His] Majesty's Counsel learned in the law...
, who was appointed in 9 November 2009 for a term of two years.
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