New Zealand

Flag Description

Blue with the flag of the United Kingdom in the upper hoist-side quadrant with four red five-pointed stars edged in white centred in the outer half of the flag; the stars represent the Southern Cross constellation.

Election type: Parliamentary

Election date: 17 September 2005 (last held 27 July 2002)

Number of registered voters: approx 2 600 000 (as at 30 June 2002)

Compulsory voting: No

Government

Type: Parliamentary Democracy  

Chief of State: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), represented by Governor General Dame Silvia CARTWRIGHT (since 4 April 2001)

Party in Government: Labour Party (NZLP)

Head of Government: Prime Minister Helen CLARK (since 10 December 1999)

Branches: Executive—Monarch (chief of state), Prime Minister (head of government) and Cabinet (Executive Council appointed by the Governor General on the recommendation of the Prime Minister).

Legislative—a unicameral House of Representatives—commonly called Parliament made up of 120 seats. Sixty-nine members are elected by popular vote in single-member constituencies, including seven Maori constituencies, and fifty-one proportional seats chosen from party lists, all to serve three-year terms.

Judicial-Supreme Court, Court of Appeal and High Court. Judges are appointed by the Governor-General.

Main Political Parties: ACT New Zealand, Green Party, Maori Party, National Party  (NP), New Zealand First Party (NZFP), New Zealand Labor Party (NZLP), Progressive Party, United Future (UF).

Suffrage: universal at 18

The New Zealand Election Study examines and monitors the democratic process for each New Zealand election, starting in 1990. Some issues examined include campaign effects, the role of the media and, how New Zealanders perceive the political process in New Zealand.

Official election information can be seen at Elections New Zealand.

Election results will be available on the 2005 General Election Results web site. Official results from the 2002 election are also available on this web site.

Comment and analysis may be seen at New Zealand Herald: Election 2005.

With the election too close to call on election night, it is now clear that Labour's Helen Clark is set for a third term in office. Fuller details may be seen in Clark poised to win New Zealand election dated 17 September 2005.

An article entitled Govt comes at a cost for Labour dated 18 October 2005, discusses the deals and negotiations which happened along the way to forming Prime Minister Helen Clark's new Cabinet.

This New Zealand Herald article of 19 October 2005 entitled New Cabinet announced, King gets police names the new Cabinet members and the portfolio changes that took place.

For copyright reasons some linked items are only available to members of Parliament.

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Last reviewed 19 October, 2005 by the Parliamentary Library Web Manager
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