Election 2008 - Zimbabwe

MMP sucks but it has it all over the Zimbabwean electoral system.

Comments

[ropata]

Criminal regimes in Africa love the AK47. What the hell kind of sicko government shows one in their election billboard, unless it's an implied threat.

[Jim]

I think it's a refreshingly truthful billboard. Mugabe is indeed an authentic looney and is consistently homicidally insane.

Behind him is a terrified, impoverished family and a happy-looking thug with an AK47. A fitting tribute to his legacy of mismanagement and dictatorial thuggery.

[fugley]

And not a coalition of the willing in site.

Shame Zimbabwe just has desperate people starving to death and no oil.

Of course, liike a tru christian, andrei likes to sink the boot in to NZ's democracy. No matter what electoral system NZ and Zimbabwe have, at least in NZ there is transparency and even nutbars like Peter Burns aka d4j can be candidates.

[belt]

MMP sucks eh?

We all have such short memories when we thought that at also sucked when:

The party with the most votes, but not exceeding 50% of the total vote cast, got to form the Government. (ie: the other parties did not get a chance to form a majority coalition)

Worse, with a 68% voter turnout, it meant that less than a third of the country ended up deciding who was the despot for the next 3 years.

I guess Muldoon is some time ago. Just see what Clarke managed to do under the current environment! I would shudder to think what the Green/Clark Government would have done in a completely unfettered environment!

MMP may have flaws, but "we "forget why we wanted it.

[belt]

Sorry, correction: "party with the most votes" should be corrected to "party with the most seats".

[peter]

Belt

You are SO correct. First past the post meant that major parties threw all their resources at marginal seats, and in fact voters in those few electorates most often chose the govt.

Also, the back benches were full of Members of Parliament that did not contribute a thing.

This is possibly why about 60 per cent nowadays favour MMP, and about 30 per cent favour the old system. It does not bother me if Extreme Right Wing Christian fundamentalists tend to be in the latter camp.

[andrei]

Also, the back benches were full of Members of Parliament that did not contribute a thing.

And now Parliament is full of Party hacks who do not contribute a thing and are impossible to get rid of because they are in good with their parties hierarchy.

At least with first past the post you could get rid of a dud and it did happen even in the so called safe seats.

And with the National party gave power to the electorate members to select their candidate, rather than Labour whose head office always had a big say in the matter.

This meant of course the people had the opportunity to choose who represented them and sometimes the National Party hierarchy were not to charmed with those who the electorate chose.

[peter]

No Andrei.. it is easier to get rid of a dud now.

This is because a weak constituency National MP can lose their electorate seat, while the voters are actually giving pary votes to the National Party.

The upper areas of the lists nowadays consists of generally experienced Members of Parliament that have paid their dues.

Some parties have found to their cost the embarrassment of having wrong people on the list. Alamein Koopu of the Alliance remains the salutory lesson to all.

[peterp]

To complete my argument..

I would rather have strong parliamentary performers from small parties like Rodney Hide, Jeanette Fitsimons, Winston Peters, Doug Wollerton etc than another couple of rows of National and Labour Party minnows.

[fugley]

peter, horse shit!

It doesn't, or at least shouldn't, matter where on the party list an MP is, the point andrei makes, and I agree, is that MMP removes the right of electors to dump a politician they do not want.

One of the greatest results in the last Oz election wasn't the defeat of Howard's governemnt, it was Howard also losing his own seat. THAT showed waht the voters had come to think of him.

Under MMP he would have just shrugged his shoulders and slipped back in. Where is the democracy in that?

[dad4justice]

You would know all about "horse shit !" fugly as you dine on it every day you nitwit deranged scumbag. MMP has allowed thicko's to maintain control in the corridors of power you disgusting creep.

[fugley]

Burnsie, do read my posts or just see my name and react?

Can you see anything in my post that supports MMP? I have always opposed it as anti-democratic, you idiot!

The really sad thing about dumb arses like you, is if your pretend party ever garnered a few votes, we could be stuck with YOU in parlaiment, and that would be a travesty.

Now, why don't you leave the discussion to adults and sit in a corner talking to your invisible friend and asking him why he made your life so miserable?

[dad4justice]

fugly - you are a creepy coward that is a disgrace to New Zealand !!!