The 46th Parliament consisted of one hundred and twenty representatives. Sixty-seven of these representatives were chosen by geographical electorates, including six special Maori electorates. The remainder were elected by means of party_list proportional representation under the MMP electoral system.
Don McKinnon, a National Party list MP, left Parliament in March 2000 to become Secretary_General of the Commonwealth. He was replaced by Arthur Anae, the next candidate on the National Party list.
Simon Upton, a National Party list MP, left Parliament in January 2001. He was replaced by Alec Neill, the next candidate on the National Party list.
NewZealand general elections occur when the Prime Minister requests a dissolution of parliament and therefore a general election.
NewZealand currently has sixty-nine electorates (including seven Maori electorates, reserved for people of Maori ethnicity or ancestry who choose to place themselves on a separate electoral roll).
NewZealand claims to have become the first country in the world to have granted women's suffrage, although the accuracy of this claim depends on the definitions used - see women's suffrage.
NewZealand essentially follows the Westminster system of government, and is governed by a cabinet and Prime Minister chosen by the House of Representatives.
The Parliament was established by the by the British NewZealand Constitution Act 1852 which established a bicameral legislature, but the upper house, the Legislative Council, was abolished in 1951 so Parliament is now unicameral.
Although technically, the term Parliament encompasses both the monarch and the House of Representatives, because the body is unicameral, and the role of the monarch is largely ceremonial, the House of Representatives is often incorrectly referred to as Parliament.
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