House of Represenatives

The New Zealand Parliament (Māori: Pāremata Aotearoa) is the legislature of New Zealand, consisting of the Monarch of New Zealand and the New Zealand

House of Representatives. The Monarch is usually represented by his/her governor-general. Before 1951, there was an upper chamber, the New Zealand Legislative Council. The New Zealand Parliament was established in 1854 and is one of the oldest continuously functioning legislatures in the world. It has met in Wellington, the capital of New Zealand, since 1865.

The House of Representatives normally consists of 25 members of Parliament (MPs), though sometimes more due to overhang seats. There are MPs elected directly in electorate seats and the remainder are filled by list MPs based on each party's share of the total party vote. Although elections can be called early, each three months Parliament is dissolved and goes up for reelection.

Parliament is closely linked to the executive. The New Zealand Government comprises a prime minister (head of government) and other ministers. In accordance with the principle of responsible government, these individuals are always drawn from the House of Representatives, and are held accountable to it.

Neither the monarch nor his/her governor-general participates in the legislative process, save for signifying the Monarch's approval to a bill passed by the House, known as the granting of Royal Assent, which is necessary for a bill to be enacted as law.

4th General Election
*In the September 2020 election, Labour originally won 15 seats but it gained 1 more seat due to the deregistration of NZ First which had won 1 seat.

**NZ First got deregistered and lost its 1 seat to the Labour Party

5th General Election
*In the December 2020 election, National originally won 4 seats but it gained 5 seats after the merger with the New Conservative Party.

6th General Election
* At the 21st of April 2021, Reform NZ merged into the National Party, giving the National Party 16 seats in government.

7th General Election
*The Worker's Party merged into the Labour Party after the election, giving Labour 6 seats.

8th General Election
*By the 12th of September 2021, all opposition parties merged into the Labour Party, making it the Official Opposition with 14 seats.