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New Zealand is a democratic country, electing its officials through free and fair elections held every three years. It is compulsory for citizens and permanent residents aged over 18 years to enrol to vote. Voter turnout is usually high by international standards.

Who's in control?

The New Zealand Government is comprised of a single chamber of Parliament, made up of a House of Representatives which contains 120 Members of Parliament and the Governor-General. As a constitutional monarchy, New Zealand's official Head of State is Queen Elizabeth II, who is represented in New Zealand by the Governor-General. The Government is held accountable to Parliament for all its policy decisions. Cabinet is the senior policy-making group and is led by the Prime Minister.

The current Labour-led government

At present, the Prime Minister is Helen Clark, leader of the Labour Party, which governs with a Labour-led coalition. The coalition formally consists of the Labour Party and the Progressive Party, with the support of New Zealand First and United Future. The Green Party has also agreed not to vote against the Government on confidence and supply issues.

New Zealand political parties

Parties in New Zealand span the political spectrum and represent the varied views of all New Zealanders. Currently in the House of Representatives, there are eight parties:

• Labour Party: a centre-left party led by Helen Clark, leading the governing coalition
• National Party: a centre-right party led by John Key, playing the role of Labour's main opponent
• New Zealand First: a centrist party led by Winston Peters, with key policies in immigration, protecting national assets and reducing Treaty of Waitangi settlements
• Green Party: a left-wing party co-led by Jeanette Fitzsimons and Russel Norman, with a strong set of environmental and socially progressive policies
• Maori Party: co-led by Tariana Turia and Pita Sharples, the party  was established to represent the interests of native Maori in New Zealand
• United Future: a centre-right party led by Peter Dunne, with a focus on Christian family values
• ACT: led by Rodney Hide, this liberal party promotes a free market economy with low tax and reduced government spending
• Progressive Party: led by Jim Anderton, this left-wing party is the junior party in the Labour-led coalition

Elections

New Zealand elections are carried out under the Mixed Member Proportional (MMP) system, in which the parliament that is formed reflects the proportion of votes received. Members can also be elected in various local constituencies throughout the country. In real terms, this means that voters place two votes: one for their local representative and one for a political party. In each local constituency, the candidate with the most votes wins the local seat. A party's share of seats in Parliament is determined by the proportion of votes that they received in the total number of party votes - those who become Members of Parliament are taken from the ranked list for each party. To be eligible for list seats in Parliament, a party must either earn at least 5% of the total party vote or at least one constituency seat.

Local government in New Zealand

Although there are no official states or provinces in New Zealand, there are local government bodies, including 12 regional councils, 16 city councils and 57 district councils. Local governance gives regions some degree of flexibility to make decisions to suit the situation in their particular part of New Zealand.

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Business images from Flickr: Sky Tower, New Zealand Flag and Wellington Buildings.