The New Zealand government operates as a parliamentary democracy, meaning that the government is elected by the people and is accountable to the parliament. It consists of three branches: the executive, led by the Prime Minister, the legislative, which is the House of Representatives, and the judiciary, which interprets laws. New Zealand has a mixed-member proportional representation system, allowing voters to choose both a local representative and a party. This system aims to ensure that the composition of parliament reflects the diverse views of the population, promoting fair representation in the decision-making process.