New Zealand First says the next General Election should be decided by voters and not by a series of backroom deals between political parties.

Rt Hon Winston Peters says the party is making its position clear from the outset that it will not be part of any pre-election discussions or arrangements aimed at subverting the democratic process.

“We thought MMP would stop the gerrymandering and ‘old boys’ arrangements of the past but some political parties keep manipulating the political process for their own ends instead of trusting the voters.”

Mr Peters says the time for talking about forming governments should be immediately after the election and not before.

“New Zealand First will be discussing all options with MPs, party members and voters during meetings throughout the country.

“When the time comes we will take everyone into our confidence. We promise voters to keep politics and politicians accountable and act in the peoples’ best interests.

“This is no time to start jacking up the election results like some tin pot military dictatorship where the general election results always favour the generals,” says Mr Peters.

ENDS

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