​The purpose of this paper is to set out a brief comparative analysis of selected electoral systems. It truces as its focal point the recent introduction of the Mixed Member Proportional (MMP) system in New Zealand which will receive its inaugural test on 12 October 1996. This account begins with an outline of some of the broader issues under debate where electoral systems are concerned and includes an account in general terms of the major categories of electoral systems. It then presents an overview of New Zealand's MMP system and compares this with the German Additional Member System from which it is derived. Subsequently, examples of the major alternatives to that system are considered.

It should be noted at the outset that the paper draws heavily on three main sources: the 1986 New Zealand Report of the Royal Commission on the Electoral System, 'Towards a Better Democracy', which first recommended the introduction ofMMP in New Zealand and has since become a much-cited source in the field of comparative electoral studies; a highly regarded Current Issues Paper entitled, Electoral Systems, written by Gerard Newman in 1989 and published by the Commonwealth Parliamentary Library; and a 1992 background paper on Voting Systems published by the House of Commons Library. A 'glossary of terms' from this paper is set out in Appendix 'A'.