Direct Democracy Party of New Zealand

Direct Democracy Party of New Zealand
Founded	2005
Dissolved	30 June 2009 (2009-06-30)
Politics of New Zealand Political parties Elections

The Direct Democracy Party of New Zealand (2005-2009) was a political party in New Zealand that promoted greater participation by the people in the decision-making of government. The party's leader was Kelvyn Alp.

It was one of the few parties^[which?] in New Zealand that openly challenged the current monetary system and actively promoted solutions to irredeemable debt.^[1] It aimed to establish a system of binding referendums (similar to the Landsgemeinde used in parts of Switzerland) for all major decisions.^[2] The Party also advocated for a New Zealand Constitution to protect and enshrine the rights and freedoms of the people.^[3]

In 2005 the Direct Democracy Party gained official registration as a political party.^[4] It fielded 32 party members in the 2005 elections, but won only 782 votes (or 0.03% of the total vote), failing to get any MPs into parliament.^[5]

The party did not apply for broadcasting funding in 2008^[6], nor did it submit a party list. The official results for the party vote in that year's election recorded no votes for the DDP.^[7]

The party's registration was cancelled at its own request on 30 June 2009.^[8]

References

1. ^ "Open Letter To The NZ People". Direct Democracy Party. 2007-02-24. http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PO0702/S00338.htm. Retrieved 2008-06-08. 
2. ^ ""Direct Democracy": Frequently Asked Questions". Direct Democracy Party Of NZ. 2007-08-19. http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PO0708/S00258.htm. Retrieved 2008-06-08. 
3. ^ "New Zealand Constitution Policy". Direct Democracy Party Of NZ. http://www.dekode.co.nz/ddp31/?permlink=12. Retrieved 2008-06-08. 
4. ^ "More political parties seeking party vote". New Zealand Electoral Commission. 2005-08-24. http://www.elections.org.nz/news/ceo-media-more-parties-240805.html. Retrieved 2008-06-08. ^{[dead link]}
5. ^ "2005 Election: Official Count Results -- Overall Status". New Zealand Electoral Commission. 2005. Archived from the original on 2008-05-10. http://web.archive.org/web/20080510233101/http://2005.electionresults.govt.nz/partystatus.html. Retrieved 2008-06-08. 
6. ^ "Commission to hear parties on broadcasting time and funding". New Zealand Electoral Commission. 2008-04-24. http://www.elections.org.nz/news/commission-to-hear-parties-on-broadcasting-time-and-funding.html. Retrieved 2008-06-08. 
7. ^ Chief Electoral Office: Official Count Results: Overall status
8. ^ "Cancellation of Registration of Party". New Zealand Electoral Commission. 2009-07-08. http://www.elections.org.nz/news/cancellation-of-registration-of-party.html. Retrieved 2009-09-27.