With 16 federal states, each conducting its own parliamentary election – most with five-year terms – there is roughly one MMP election somewhere in Germany every three months.
Opinion: As we prepare for another election under the Mixed Member Proportional (MMP) system, it is worth noting New Zealand is one of the few nations to have adopted this electoral model. The majority of countries still opt for First Past the Post or purely proportional systems. Another country that uses MMP is my native Germany.
However, there are even differences between countries using MMP, and as a German-born New Zealander, I cannot help but notice them at each election.
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I am not saying that one or another version is better, but I find it quite remarkable how the same electoral system can feel so different depending on how it is run.
Now, I would not expect anyone in New Zealand to be familiar with the way Germany runs its MMP elections, and you probably need to have lived in both countries to appreciate the differences.
So let me take you through MMP in both its New Zealand and its German flavours: the same system, but different.
To begin with, the frequency of elections using the MMP system varies greatly. In New Zealand, we have a single MMP election every three years. Our parliamentary term of three years is short, but, unlike Germany, there are no state elections in between our general elections.
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© Newsroom, Oliver Hartwich