Waste case: National's 706,680 party votes produce no list MPs in overhang Parliament

Summarised by Centrist

More than 700,000 party votes for National have produced no list MPs, despite the party winning 42 electorate seats, exposing an unusual consequence of New Zealand's MMP electoral system.

According to the Electoral Commission's preliminary results, National received 706,680 party votes, or 29.21%, giving it a proportional entitlement of approximately 35 seats.

However, National won 42 electorates, creating seven additional seats, known as an overhang. Its entire parliamentary caucus will therefore consist of electorate MPs, with no list MPs.

Te Pāti Māori achieved a similar result, winning five electorate seats with just 13,845 party votes, or 0.57% of the total. That creates another four overhang seats.

Together, the two parties have expanded the projected Parliament from 120 to 131 MPs.

The results follow campaigns encouraging strategic vote splitting. Businessman Harry Mowbray urged National supporters to give their electorate vote to National and their party vote to ACT or NZ First. Te Pāti Māori encouraged supporters to back its electorate candidates while giving their party votes to Labour or the Greens.

But constitutional lawyer Graeme Edgeler questioned whether the result was deliberately engineered.

"Was this something that was artificially caused?" he asked RNZ, suggesting the major parties' declining popularity could also explain the outcome.

Meanwhile, Labour received more party votes than National, with 710,330, but secured only 36 seats.

The preliminary results give National, ACT and NZ First 67 seats against 64 for Labour, the Greens, Te Pāti Māori and Opportunity combined.

Approximately 399,000 special votes remain to be counted, with final results due on November 27.

Read more at 1News

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