New Zealand voters cast two separate votes: the party vote largely determines how many MPs each qualifying party gets in Parliament, while the electorate vote chooses the MP for a local electorate. The Electoral Commission uses the Sainte-Laguë formula to calculate party seat totals, counts a party’s electorate winners toward that total, then fills any remaining seats from its ranked list. A party that wins more electorates than its party-vote entitlement keeps those MPs, and Parliament grows to accommodate the extra seats.
What the two votes do
| Vote | What it chooses | How it affects seats |
|---|---|---|
| Party vote | The party a voter wants represented nationally | It is the main driver of each qualifying party’s overall number of MPs. |
| Electorate vote | The candidate a voter wants to represent their local electorate | It determines the local electorate MP; those winners count toward their party’s total seats. |
The electorate candidate with the most votes wins, even without more than half the votes. As the Electoral Commission puts it, “The candidate with the most votes in your electorate becomes your electorate MP. They do not need more than half the votes.” Electoral Commission: How MPs are elected
How a party qualifies for seats
A party qualifies for proportional seat allocation if it wins at least 5% of the nationwide party vote or wins at least one electorate. The electorate route is often called the “one-seat threshold,” but the Electoral Commission’s review describes it more precisely as a waiver of the party-vote threshold: an electorate win lets a party qualify even if its party-vote share is below 5%.
| Qualification route | Requirement | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| Party-vote threshold | At least 5% of the nationwide party vote | Qualifies the party for seat allocation under Sainte-Laguë. |
| Electorate win | At least one electorate seat | Waives the 5% party-vote threshold, allowing the party to qualify. |
The Electoral Commission summarizes the rule this way: “If a party gets at least 5% of the party vote or wins an electorate, we use the Sainte-Laguë formula to decide how many seats it gets.” Electoral Commission: How MPs are elected
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How party votes become a seat entitlement
1. Apply Sainte-Laguë to qualifying parties
Once parties qualify, Sainte-Laguë allocates parliamentary seats in a way that makes each party’s share of seats broadly correspond to its share of the party vote. In the Electoral Commission’s illustration, a party receiving 30% of party votes would get about 36 of 120 seats before any overhang. That is an example, not a guarantee that every Parliament has exactly 120 members.
2. Count electorate winners first
Each qualifying party’s successful electorate candidates take seats within its overall entitlement first. If the party is entitled to more seats than it won electorates, ranked candidates on its party list fill the remaining places. The party list therefore determines which candidates become MPs when list seats are available.
What happens when a party wins an electorate but gets under 5%?
If a party wins at least one electorate, it qualifies even when its party-vote share is below 5%. Its electorate MP or MPs count toward its seat total, and Sainte-Laguë determines its overall entitlement along with the other qualifying parties. The rule does not automatically give every such party a fixed number of seats; the party-vote total still informs its entitlement.
The Electoral Commission’s 2012 review illustrates how this worked in the 2008 election: the Greens received 6.7% of party votes and nine seats; ACT received 3.6% and qualified through an electorate win, receiving five seats; New Zealand First received 4.1% and won no electorate, so received no seats. These are historical examples from the review, not current party results. Electoral Commission: 2012 MMP review report
What an overhang is
An overhang occurs when a party wins more electorate seats than its party-vote entitlement. The party keeps every electorate winner rather than removing an MP to fit the calculated total; Parliament adds the extra seat or seats, making the House larger. The Electoral Commission reports five Parliaments with overhangs. Its current MPs explainer says the Parliament following the 2023 General Election has 123 MPs, a figure that describes that Parliament rather than a permanent size. Electoral Commission: How MPs are elected
Why the threshold matters
The 5% threshold and electorate-seat waiver balance proportional representation against the aim of avoiding an undue proliferation of very small parties. The Electoral Commission’s 2012 review describes the trade-off: a higher threshold can make representation less proportional, while a lower one can make effective parliamentary government and stability harder to secure. The threshold decides which parties participate in seat allocation; it does not change the basic role of the party vote, electorate winners, or list seats.
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How New Zealand chose MMP
After a Royal Commission recommended MMP, voters considered electoral-system change in two referendums. In the indicative 1992 referendum, 70.5% chose MMP as their preferred alternative; in the binding 1993 referendum, 53.9% voted for the change from First Past the Post. Electoral Commission: History of MMP
Try a hypothetical result
The Electoral Commission’s MMP seat-allocation calculator accepts party-vote totals or percentages and electorate-seat assumptions, so readers can explore how changing either input affects the result. It was updated in September 2026. MMP seat-allocation calculator
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