1996 MMP Elections

This special 40c stamp was released to commemorate New Zealand's first Mixed Member Proportional representation election that occurred in 1996. Part of the purpose of this issue was to promote the election and generate public interest.

40c - Beehive Ballot Box.

The stamp was a simple design, showing a cartoon view of what has become the symbol of New Zealand's government, Wellington's 'Beehive'. Also featured was the 'two ticks' logo signifying that, under MMP, each voter has two votes.

For more on this building, see our thematic collect - Parliament Buildings.

Sheetlet of ten 40 cent stamps.

This stamp was only issued in this miniature sheet format. While single stamps could be brought over the counter at NZ Post outlets, only sheets of 10 stamps could be purchased by the NZ Post's collector mail order service.

First Day Cover - 4 September 1996.

MMP Elections.

        For those unfamiliar with New Zealand's Electoral System, I have included this from the NZ Post website. 

        The way New Zealanders had elected their government for generations underwent a dramatic and fundamental change in 1993. In an electoral referendum that year the nation voted against the traditional first-past-the-post (FPP) system under which the candidate receiving the largest number of votes in an electorate or constituency was elected to the House of Representatives.

        One common criticism of FPP was that it was unfair to small parties which often polled well overall but failed to gain representation in Parliament. Many people felt too it was unreasonable that the party with the largest number of seats always became the government although in some elections actually receiving fewer votes in total than the main opposition party. In the 1993 referendum, New Zealanders chose to replace FPP by Mixed Member Proportional (MMP), a proportional voting system. Over the next three years, the rules for MMP were fixed and MMP was used for the first time in the 1996 general election.

        Under MMP every New Zealander eligible to vote has two votes - one a Party Vote for the political party an individual wants to be represented by in Parliament, and the other an Electoral Vote for the electorate candidate an individual wants to be his or her Member of Parliament (MP) - still chosen by the FPP method.

        Prior to the first MMP election, there were 99 MPs but under MMP there are usually 120 (the number can vary slightly depending on various circumstances). Parliament is made up of 60 MPs chosen by electors on the general electoral roll using their Electorate Vote, five MPs chosen by voters on the Maori roll and 55 MPs from party lists by voters using their Party Vote.

        Before an election, each party discloses lists of names of candidates it wishes to be represented by in Parliament. These schedules are known as the Party Lists and the number of those on the lists who make it to Parliament depends on the number of Party Votes each party gets. Thus the final number of MPs in Parliament from each party depends on that party's share of the Party Votes. However, there is a threshold to be reached before a party gains representation in Parliament. A party must win at least five per cent of all the Party Votes or win at least one electorate seat through the Electorate Vote to receive a proportional allocation of Party seats in Parliament.

Technical information.

Date of issue: 4 September 1996.

Designer: Gatehaus Design, Wellington, New Zealand.

Printer and process: Southern Colour Print, New Zealand by offset lithography.

Stamp size: 30mm x 35mm.

Sheet size: 10 stamps; Sheetlet Size: 100mm x 215mm.

Perforation gauge: 12.

Paper type: Red phosphor coated, unwatermarked.

Period of sale: These stamps remained on sale until 4 September 1997.

Some of the images in this post were used with permission from the illustrated catalogue of StampsNZ

You can visit their website and Online Catalogue at, http://stampsnz.com/

Information & images for this post came from.

New Zealand Post (Stamps)