國會選舉制度改革對紐西蘭政黨政治的影響

The Impact of the Reform of Electoral System in New Zealand's Party Politics

紐西蘭自1907年獨立後，即為一實施議會內閣制的民主國家，並自1914年起採取FPP制選舉國會議員，直至1996年起才改採德國式的MMP制。本文探討紐西蘭進行選制改革的原因、其MMP制的主要特徵，以及實施MMP制後，對其政黨政治的影響。本研究發現，MMP制實施後，對紐西蘭的政黨政治有以下四個重大的影響：其一為政黨制度由兩黨制變成多黨制；其二為聯合內閣成為常態；其三為少數政府多能穩定執政；其四則是關鍵小黨的影響力過大，常會取得不成比例的政治利益。本文結論指出，由於紐西蘭實施MMP制的時間僅有十八年，前述的各種變化是否會持續下去，會否出現其他變化，都仍然值得觀察。

Since its independence in 1907, New Zealand has been a parliamentary democratic country which adopted the FPP system to elect members of parliament from 1914 to 1996. This paper explores the reason why New Zealand changed its electoral system from FPP to MMP in 1996, the specific features of its MMP system, and the impact of MMP system on its party politics. This paper finds that there are four significant changes in New Zealand's party politics since the implementation of MMP: Firstly, its party system changed from two-party system to multi-party one; secondly, the formation of coalition cabinet has become normal; thirdly, the minority governments are often stable; and lastly, the critical minority parties have enormous influence on New Zealand's party politics and they often gain disproportionate political benefits. As New Zealand has carried out MMP for merely eighteen years, it is worth observing whether these changes will persist, and whether other changes will arise.