CHANGING DEMOCRACY

  BC and the politics of Middle Earth   

Paul Harris

Paul Harris is Chief Executive of the New Zealand Electoral Commission. He was the principal research officer for the Royal Commission on the electoral system and he co-authored a book called Voters Choice, Electoral Change in New Zealand.  Harris has been with the Electoral Commission since 1994. Prior to that he was a lecturer at in the School of Political Science and International Relations at Victoria University of Wellington.

Paul Harris was interviewed in Wellington on October 31, 2003.

Did New Zealanders understand they were picking a system that would almost guarantee minority or coalition governments?

Paul Harris 00:28

Do New Zealanders support MMP?

Paul Harris 2  01:10

Do you think people are strategically splitting their two votes, by voting for a candidate but not his party?

Paul Harris 3 00:41

Are constituency (riding) MPs and party list MPs considered equal and accountable to the electorate?

Paul Harris 4   01:04