Bishop says overhang campaign was bad for democracy as he leaves Parliament

Outgoing National MP Chris Bishop has said the overhang campaign run by the Māori Party, billionaire Harry Mowbray and others was bad for democracy. Bishop lost his Hutt South seat to Labour's Ginny Andersen by fewer than 900 votes, and he is leaving Parliament after 12 years as a list and electorate MP.

In an interview with RNZ's Morning Report, Bishop said the electoral system needs to be reassessed in the wake of the overhang. He described the overhang as "gaming the system" and said the campaign was "terribly confusing for voters." He also said it became a distraction from the real issues.

Bishop said the Māori Party, Mowbray and his associates have "a lot to answer for" over the campaign. Mowbray has said his campaign "saved the centre-right."

The result left National without any list seats, the top-up seats allocated to parties on their party vote. Bishop had been Leader of the House and Minister for Infrastructure in the outgoing government.

In a Facebook post on Monday night, Bishop described election night on Saturday as "soul-destroying." He said special votes were unlikely to change the outcome in Hutt South.

Bishop said he rang Andersen to concede and congratulated her on her win. He has conceded that he is unlikely to return to Parliament.