New Zealand is preparing for a general election on November 7, with its mixed-member proportional (MMP) voting system once again putting the focus on coalition-building and the role of smaller political parties.
Under MMP, voters cast two ballots: one for their preferred candidate in their local electorate and another for a political party. The electorate candidate with the most votes wins the constituency, while the nationwide party vote largely determines each party’s overall share of parliamentary seats.
New Zealand has 71 electorate seats, with the remaining seats normally filled from party lists to reflect parties’ share of the national vote. A party generally needs at least 5% of the party vote or one electorate seat to enter Parliament. A majority normally requires at least 61 of the 120 seats.
The system, introduced in 1996, has made coalition governments common because major parties frequently need support from smaller parties to reach a parliamentary majority. New Zealand First has played this role several times, while the 2017 election demonstrated that the party winning the most seats does not necessarily form the government.
The 2026 election could again make smaller parties important in determining which grouping can assemble enough parliamentary support to govern.
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