THINKING AHEAD TO MIXED-MEMBER PROPORTIONAL REPRESENTATION - PARTY STRATEGIES AND ELECTION CAMPAIGNING UNDER NEW-ZEALANDS NEW ELECTORAL-LAW

When New Zealand's voters in 1993 approved the transformation of the n ation's electoral system in 1996 from first-past-the-post to mixed-mem ber proportional representation they brought about fundamental changes to the tactics, organization and technologies used by parties in thei r electoral campaigns, since parties' appeals and the techniques for c onveying them reflect the constraints of the electoral law within whic h they occur. New Zealand's political practitioners, during the curren t 3-year interregnum between the old and the new system, have begun to contemplate those changes and a variety of alternative avenues for ma ximizing electoral gain. This essay, drawing from interviews with 18 i ndividuals at the centre of electoral politics in New Zealand, examine s the implications of the switch to mixed-member proportional represen tation on marginal seats, targeting, issue constituencies, mass media appeals and other aspects of electoral campaigns.