Representational roles and proportional representation in New Zealand

Abstract

This paper examines representational role expectations, perceived role realities, and voting in the 1993 referendum that changed the electoral system to proportional representation in New Zealand. The data analysed come from a survey administered to a representative national sample of New Zealanders and the extant universe of party leaders. The average citizen prefers that his or her representatives serve as delegates in parliament, while party leaders are more splintered in their role expectations. Most New Zealanders, both leaders and citizens, think their MPs do not behave in accordance with these role expectations. By and large, respondents perceive that MPs are more receptive to the elitist organisations in political parties than they ought to be. Frustrations stemming from representational role discrepancies affected voting in the 1993 referendum. Voters who wanted their MPs to be more responsive to mass‐based sentiment preferred proportional representation, perhaps envisaged as a means to bridge the gap between citizen preferences and leadership behaviour that has recently emerged in New Zealand.