New Zealand: House of Representatives, 23 September 2017

At stake in this election:

• 120 seats or more in the House of Representatives depending on the proportional vote

Description of government structure:

• Chief of State: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), Represented by Governor General Dame Patricia Lee REDDY (since 28 September 2016)
• Head of Government: Prime Minister Simon William (Bill) ENGLISH (since 12 December 2016)
• Assembly: Unicameral House of Representatives with 120 seats

Description of electoral system:

• The monarchy is hereditary.
• The monarch appoints the Governor General.
• After general elections, the Governor General usually appoints the leader of the majority party or majority coalition to Prime Minister.
• Members of the House of Representatives are directly elected to 3-year terms.71 members are elected in single-seat constituencies and 49 list members are elected by a proportional representation vote under the Mixed Member Proportional (MMP) system.

Last Election:

• The last election for the New Zealand House of Representatives occurred on September 20, 2014. The center-right National Party received the largest share of votes, obtaining 60 seats. Since the election, former Prime Minister John KEY resigned and was succeeded by current Prime Minister Bill ENGLISH.

Main candidates in the election:

• New Zealand National Party
  • Leader: Bill ENGLISH
  • Seats won in last election: 60
• New Zealand Labour Party
  • Leader: Jacinda ARDERN
  • Seats won in last election: 32
• Green Party  
  • Leader: James SHAW
  • Seats won in last election: 14
• New Zealand First Party
  • Leader: Winston PETERS
  • Seats won in last election: 11
• Maori Party
  • Leader: Te Ururoa FLAVELL and Marama FOX
  • Seats won in last election: 2
• ACT New Zealand
  • Leader: David SEYMOUR
  • Seats won in last election: 1
• United Future New Zealand
  • Leader: Damian LIGHT
  • Seats won in last election: 1

Population and number of registered voters:

• Population: 4,474,549 (2016)
• Registered Voters: 3,180,958 (SEPT 05 2017)

Gender Data:

• Female Population: 2,248,517
• Is New Zealand a signatory to CEDAW: Yes (17 July 1980)
• Has New Zealand ratified CEDAW: Yes (10 January 1985)
• Gender Quota: No
• Female candidates in this election: Yes
• Number of Female Parliamentarians: 41
• Human Development Index Position: 13
• Social Institutions and Gender Index (SIGI) Categorization: N/A

Disability Data:

• Is New Zealand a signatory to CRPD: Yes (30 March 2007)
• Has New Zealand ratified CRPD: Yes (25 September 2008)
• Population with a disability: 665,759