Simultaneously, the act allowed Māori to stand in general electorates. Since 1967, therefore, there has not been any electoral guarantee of representation by candidates who have Māori descent. While this still means that those elected to represent Māori electors in the Māori electorates are directly accountable to those voters, those representatives are not required to themselves be Māori. In 1976, Māori gained the right for the first time to decide on which electoral roll they preferred to enrol. Only 40% of the potential population registered on the Māori roll. This reduced the number of calls for the abolition of Māori electorates, as many presumed that Māori would eventually abandon the Māori electorates of their own accord. However the 1977 electoral redistribution has been described as the most overtly political since the Representation Commission was established (through an amendment to the Representation Act in 1886); the option to decide which roll to go on was introduced by Muldoon's National Government. As part of the 1976 census, a large number of people failed to fill out an electoral re-registration card, and census staff had not been given the authority to insist on the card being completed. This had little practical effect for people on the general roll, but it transferred Māori to the general roll if the card was not handed in. Current positions A number of currently active political parties oppose, or have opposed, the existence of Māori electorates. National Party The National Party has advocated abolition of the Māori electorates, though the party is not opposed to the seats. National did not stand candidates in Māori electorate from the 2005 election through the 2020 election. Bill English, the party's leader in 2003, said that "the purpose of the Māori seats has come to an end", and in 2004 party leader Don Brash called the electorates an "anachronism". National announced in 2008 it would abolish the electorates when all historic treaty settlements have been resolved, which it aimed to complete by 2014. In 2014 though, then-Prime Minister John Key ruled out the abolition, saying he would not do it even if he had the numbers to do so as there would be "hikois from hell". In 2020, party leader Judith Collins announced that "I am not opposed to the Māori seats. The National Party has had a view for many years now that they should be done away with. But I