The Electoral Commission (Māori: Te Kaitiaki Take Kōwhiri) is an independent Crown entity set up by the New Zealand Parliament. It is responsible for the administration of parliamentary elections and referendums, promoting compliance with electoral laws, servicing the work of the Representation Commission, and the provision of advice, reports and public education on electoral matters. The commission also assists electoral agencies of other countries on a reciprocal basis with their electoral events.
The Electoral Act 1993 defines the objective of the Electoral Commission as
"to administer the electoral system impartially, efficiently, effectively, and in a way that –
Facilitates participation in parliamentary democracy; and
Promotes understanding of the electoral system; and
Maintains confidence in the administration of the electoral system".[1]
Functions of the Electoral Commission
The functions of the Electoral Commission are defined by law and in summary comprise:
Preparation and conduct of General Elections, by-elections, and referendums
Allocating government monies to registered political parties for radio and television broadcasting
Promoting public awareness of electoral matters through education and information programmes
Giving advice to the Minister and the House of Representatives on electoral matters referred to the commission
Making available information to assist political parties, candidates, and third parties to meet their statutory obligations in respect of electoral matters administered by the commission
Compiling and maintaining electoral rolls (from 1 July 2012).
Independence
The Electoral Commission is an independent Crown entity. The responsible Minister may not direct the commission to give effect to, or have regard to, government policy.
In addition:
the Governor-General appoints and removes Electoral Commissioners on the recommendation of the House of Representatives
the Electoral Commission has a statutory duty to act independently in performing its statutory duties and functions and exercising its powers
the Electoral Commission may provide information and advice to the Minister of Justice or the House of Representatives at any time and of its own volition.
Electoral Commission Board
The Electoral Commission Board has three members, appointed by the Governor-General, including one member as the Chairperson, one member as the Deputy Chairperson and the Chief Electoral Officer, who is the Chief Executive of the Electoral Commission.[2]
The Electoral (Administration) Amendment Bill, passed unanimously by Parliament 19 May 2010, established a new independent Electoral Commission which was given overarching responsibility to administer elections.
The Electoral Commission, which took over the responsibilities of the Chief Electoral Office and the previous Electoral Commission, was formed on Friday 1 October 2010.
On 1 July 2012 the statutory responsibilities of the Electoral Enrolment Centre of New Zealand Post were transferred to the commission in accordance with the Electoral (Administration) Amendment Act 2011.
Previous Electoral Commission
The previous Electoral Commission of New Zealand (1993–2010) was a governmental body responsible for administering certain aspects of the country's electoral system.
The four primary functions of the previous Electoral Commission were:
Registration of political parties. The commission was responsible for scrutinising and approving all changes to the electoral register. A place on the register allows parties to contest the party vote in general elections. Unregistered parties can put forward individual candidates, but cannot receive votes for proportional representation under the MMP system. The commission must have been satisfied that such a party meets the requirements for registration, such as having five hundred financial members.
Allocating broadcasting funding. Political parties are given state funding for any broadcasting they conduct in an election campaign. The commission was responsible for dividing money between the various parties, taking into account a party's membership, current number of MPs, previous election performance, and current polling. The commission also supervises the actual payment of this funding.
Supervision of financial declarations. to ensure transparency, parties are required to submit records showing how much money they received as donations and how much money they spent campaigning. The commission supervised this process.
Public education. The commission was the primary body charged with ensuring strong public awareness of how elections in New Zealand work.
For most business, the previous Electoral Commission consisted of four members – a President, a Chief Executive, the head of the Ministry of Justice, and the Chief Judge of the Māori Land Court.
Two additional members, one appointed by the Government and one by the Opposition, participate in the commission e.g. on the allocation of broadcasting funds. This participation is generally condemned by smaller parties, which claim that Labour and National unfairly monopolised funding. These additional members were removed by Labour in 2007 by the Electoral Finance Act; but the Act was repealed by National in 2009, with clauses of the EFA dealing with donation disclosure inserted into the 1993 Electoral Act.
^"Electoral Commission board". New Zealand Electoral Commission. Retrieved 23 April 2020.
^"Appointment of Chairperson of the Electoral Commission". New Zealand Gazette. 14 August 2019. Retrieved 11 January 2023.
^"Appointment of Deputy Chairperson of the Electoral Commission". New Zealand Gazette. 14 August 2019. Retrieved 11 January 2023.
^"Appointment of Chief Electoral Officer of the Electoral Commission". New Zealand Gazette. 26 April 2022. Retrieved 11 January 2023.
External links
New Zealand Electoral Commission's website
New Zealand Electoral Commission's website for the review of the MMP Voting System
New Zealand Electoral Commission's website for election results
January 26, 2023
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See also Elections in New Zealand This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Electoral Commission New Zealand news newspapers books scholar JSTOR June 2014 Learn how and when to remove this template message The Electoral Commission Maori Te Kaitiaki Take Kōwhiri is an independent Crown entity set up by the New Zealand Parliament It is responsible for the administration of parliamentary elections and referendums promoting compliance with electoral laws servicing the work of the Representation Commission and the provision of advice reports and public education on electoral matters The commission also assists electoral agencies of other countries on a reciprocal basis with their electoral events Electoral CommissionTe Kaitiaki Take KōwhiriAgency overviewFormed1 October 2010Preceding agenciesElectoral CommissionChief Electoral OfficeElectoral Enrolment CentreJurisdictionNew ZealandHeadquartersWellingtonAgency executiveKarl Le Quesne Chief Electoral Officer and Chief ExecutiveWebsitevote wbr nz elections wbr nz Contents 1 Objective of the Electoral Commission 2 Functions of the Electoral Commission 3 Independence 4 Electoral Commission Board 5 Electoral events conducted by the Electoral Commission 6 History 6 1 Formation of the Electoral Commission 6 2 Previous Electoral Commission 7 References 8 External linksObjective of the Electoral Commission EditThe Electoral Act 1993 defines the objective of the Electoral Commission as to administer the electoral system impartially efficiently effectively and in a way that Facilitates participation in parliamentary democracy and Promotes understanding of the electoral system and Maintains confidence in the administration of the electoral system 1 Functions of the Electoral Commission EditThe functions of the Electoral Commission are defined by law and in summary comprise Preparation and conduct of General Elections by elections and referendums Allocating government monies to registered political parties for radio and television broadcasting Promoting public awareness of electoral matters through education and information programmes Giving advice to the Minister and the House of Representatives on electoral matters referred to the commission Making available information to assist political parties candidates and third parties to meet their statutory obligations in respect of electoral matters administered by the commission Compiling and maintaining electoral rolls from 1 July 2012 Independence EditThe Electoral Commission is an independent Crown entity The responsible Minister may not direct the commission to give effect to or have regard to government policy In addition the Governor General appoints and removes Electoral Commissioners on the recommendation of the House of Representatives the Electoral Commission has a statutory duty to act independently in performing its statutory duties and functions and exercising its powers the Electoral Commission may provide information and advice to the Minister of Justice or the House of Representatives at any time and of its own volition Electoral Commission Board EditThe Electoral Commission Board has three members appointed by the Governor General including one member as the Chairperson one member as the Deputy Chairperson and the Chief Electoral Officer who is the Chief Executive of the Electoral Commission 2 Position Name Portrait Date of appointmentChair Marie Shroff 19 August 2019 3 Deputy Chair Jane Meares 19 August 2019 4 Chief Electoral Officer Karl Le Quesne 21 April 2022 5 Electoral events conducted by the Electoral Commission EditElectoral Event DateMana by election Saturday 20 November 2010Botany by election Saturday 5 March 2011Te Tai Tokerau by election Saturday 25 June 20112011 general election Saturday 26 November 2011Referendum on the voting system Saturday 26 November 2011MMP Review February October 2012Ikaroa Rawhiti by election Saturday 29 June 20132013 New Zealand local elections 12 October 2016Christchurch East by election Saturday 30 November 2013Asset sales referendum 22 November 13 December 20132014 general election Saturday 20 September 2014Northland by election Saturday 28 March 2015First New Zealand flag referendum 20 November 11 December 2015Second New Zealand flag referendum 3 24 March 20162016 New Zealand local elections 8 October 2016Mount Roskill by election Saturday 3 December 2016Mount Albert by election Saturday 25 February 20172017 general election Saturday 23 September 2017Northcote by election Saturday 9 June 20182020 general election Saturday 17 October 20202020 cannabis referendum Saturday 17 October 20202020 euthanasia referendum Saturday 17 October 20202022 Tauranga by election Saturday 18 June 20222022 Hamilton West by election Saturday 10 December 2022History EditFormation of the Electoral Commission Edit The Electoral Administration Amendment Bill passed unanimously by Parliament 19 May 2010 established a new independent Electoral Commission which was given overarching responsibility to administer elections The Electoral Commission which took over the responsibilities of the Chief Electoral Office and the previous Electoral Commission was formed on Friday 1 October 2010 On 1 July 2012 the statutory responsibilities of the Electoral Enrolment Centre of New Zealand Post were transferred to the commission in accordance with the Electoral Administration Amendment Act 2011 Previous Electoral Commission Edit The previous Electoral Commission of New Zealand 1993 2010 was a governmental body responsible for administering certain aspects of the country s electoral system It was an independent Crown entity not part of any larger department or Ministry and was established under the Electoral Act 1993 It worked alongside two other bodies the Chief Electoral Office and the Electoral Enrolment Centre The four primary functions of the previous Electoral Commission were Registration of political parties The commission was responsible for scrutinising and approving all changes to the electoral register A place on the register allows parties to contest the party vote in general elections Unregistered parties can put forward individual candidates but cannot receive votes for proportional representation under the MMP system The commission must have been satisfied that such a party meets the requirements for registration such as having five hundred financial members Allocating broadcasting funding Political parties are given state funding for any broadcasting they conduct in an election campaign The commission was responsible for dividing money between the various parties taking into account a party s membership current number of MPs previous election performance and current polling The commission also supervises the actual payment of this funding Supervision of financial declarations to ensure transparency parties are required to submit records showing how much money they received as donations and how much money they spent campaigning The commission supervised this process Public education The commission was the primary body charged with ensuring strong public awareness of how elections in New Zealand work For most business the previous Electoral Commission consisted of four members a President a Chief Executive the head of the Ministry of Justice and the Chief Judge of the Maori Land Court Two additional members one appointed by the Government and one by the Opposition participate in the commission e g on the allocation of broadcasting funds This participation is generally condemned by smaller parties which claim that Labour and National unfairly monopolised funding These additional members were removed by Labour in 2007 by the Electoral Finance Act but the Act was repealed by National in 2009 with clauses of the EFA dealing with donation disclosure inserted into the 1993 Electoral Act References Edit Electoral Act 1993 Retrieved 12 June 2012 Electoral Commission board New Zealand Electoral Commission Retrieved 23 April 2020 Appointment of Chairperson of the Electoral Commission New Zealand Gazette 14 August 2019 Retrieved 11 January 2023 Appointment of Deputy Chairperson of the Electoral Commission New Zealand Gazette 14 August 2019 Retrieved 11 January 2023 Appointment of Chief Electoral Officer of the Electoral Commission New Zealand Gazette 26 April 2022 Retrieved 11 January 2023 External links EditNew Zealand Electoral Commission s website New Zealand Electoral Commission s website for the review of the MMP Voting System New Zealand Electoral Commission s website for election results Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Electoral Commission New Zealand amp oldid 1132864520, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
