Electoral Systems

The Local Electoral Act 2001 allows a local body to use either the First Past the Post (FPP) electoral system or the Single Transferable Vote (STV) electoral system for electing its members. Each local body makes its own decision as to which electoral system it will use.

Poll of Electors

The Council has the ability to hold a poll of electors to determine which electoral system it will use. The results of these polls are binding on the Council and the system that's agreed on must remain in place for at least the next two local body elections. The Council has held two such polls (in November 2002 and September 2008) the results of which both supported the STV electoral system.

STV

STV is a proportional electoral system where electors rank candidates in order of preference. Electors have a single vote (regardless of the number of vacancies) and they are required to cast that vote by ranking, in their order of preference, as few or as many of the candidates as they wish.

Further information on the STV system, including a demonstration of how it works, is available on the following websites.

• Single Transferable Vote website
• STV Information - Department of Internal Affairs website

Wellington City Council has used the STV electoral system to elect its Mayor, Councillors and community board members since 2004 when this system first became an option for local bodies. A recent poll of electors (held in September 2008) has determined that the STV electoral system will continue to be used to elect members of the Wellington City Council until at least the 2013 elections. A decision on which system will apply for the 2016 and subsequent elections can be reviewed next in 2014.

The STV system is compulsory for all district health board elections. Only eight local bodies use the STV system for electing their Mayor and Councillors.

FPP

Electors vote by indicating their preferred candidate(s), and the candidate(s) that receives the most votes is declared the winner, regardless of the proportion of votes that candidate(s) received.

The FPP electoral system was used by the Wellington City Council (and all other local bodies) prior to the 2004 local body elections. It is the system that is still used by the majority of local bodies throughout the country. The Wellington Regional Council and the Hutt Mana Charitable Trust use the FPP system to elect its members. The FPP system was also used in New Zealand for Parliamentary elections until 1996, when MMP (Mixed Member Proportional) was introduced.

• More About FPP – Department of Internal Affairs

Information on the two electoral systems is also available by calling the Council on (04) 499 4444 or by contacting:

The Electoral Officer
Wellington City Council

Department Details:
Democratic Services