In an election, every voter gets two votes. Parties compete to win as many electoral votes and party votes as they can. To get any seats in parliament, a party needs to win at least 5% of the party vote or win an electorate seat.
Your electorate vote goes to the person you most want to represent the area you live in. Each party chooses people to stand in the election. The person with the most votes is called an MP. Normally the person that the parties choose to stand on the behalf of their party.
There are currently 5 political parties in parliament. These are the Act Party, Green Party, Labour Party, National Party and the New Zealand First Party.
Voting places close at 7.00 pm on election day. Each voting place counts the votes there. The process of counting the votes by hand begins with an early start from 9:00 am. From 7.00 pm, results go to a central office in Wellington, for the announcement as they arrive. A person needs to ensure no voter has voted more than once. Special overseas votes are also included. People count the votes which usually takes about two weeks. The results of the election become official when confirmed by the Chief Electoral Officer.
The two major parties that have dominated the government are labour and national. This is because they have a lot more people and better ideas that will benefit the country. However, not everyone agrees with the ideas. That's why parties are normally made up of people that have a similar idea of how to make our country a better place.
Like the last election, for example, New Zealand First joined up with Labour and the Greens. This is called a coalition. So they can join the number of seats they have in parliament. The leaders from the three coalition partners parties negotiate to determine who will become either Prime Minister or Deputy Prime Minister
By Troy
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