04-19-2007, 01:54 AM
New Zealand voted to change to an MMP system about, oh, 4 elections back now? (We have elections every 3 years so its not quite as long as you might think).
I was also in BC when they went through their electoral reform process. I'm not 100% sure, but I think MMP had wider support in BC than it did in New Zealand, but the threshold to actually switch electoral systems was much higher than a simple majority. It was a bit of a confusing result really, since a clear majority did want a change, but the result was still significantly short of what was required.
In New Zealand, MMP has worked fine, and I don't think there would be a lot of support to change back. The two major parties under the FPP system are still the two major parties, but there are 6 other minor parties represented who managed to either get an electorate MP elected, or secure enough party votes to get over the 5% threshold. Under the old system there were absurd scenarios such as one where a third party got 20% of the vote, but only 2 members (out of 99) in parliament.
Chris
I was also in BC when they went through their electoral reform process. I'm not 100% sure, but I think MMP had wider support in BC than it did in New Zealand, but the threshold to actually switch electoral systems was much higher than a simple majority. It was a bit of a confusing result really, since a clear majority did want a change, but the result was still significantly short of what was required.
In New Zealand, MMP has worked fine, and I don't think there would be a lot of support to change back. The two major parties under the FPP system are still the two major parties, but there are 6 other minor parties represented who managed to either get an electorate MP elected, or secure enough party votes to get over the 5% threshold. Under the old system there were absurd scenarios such as one where a third party got 20% of the vote, but only 2 members (out of 99) in parliament.
Chris