Information for Māori candidates

Māori candidates can stand for a Māori ward or general ward

Learn about standing for a general ward here.

Standing for a Māori ward or constituency

Māori wards and constituencies provide a way for Māori to contribute to decision-making and have representation at council.

Learn more about Māori wards and constituencies here.

Eligibility criteria and nominees

To be eligible to stand for a Māori ward or constituency, a candidate must be a New Zealand citizen and their name must be on the Parliamentary Electoral Roll anywhere in New Zealand. They do not need to reside in the area (city, district, ward, constituency) that they are standing for.

They will need to be nominated by two electors whose names appear on the Māori electoral roll within the area of election for which the candidate is standing.

Equally, if a candidate is on the Māori electoral roll they can stand in a general ward, and will need to be nominated by two electors whose names appear on the general electoral roll within the area of election for which they are standing.

Other requirements are that:

The candidate or their spouse/partner must not have concerns or interests in contracts over $25,000 with the council.
If the candidate is subject to a Court Order under section 31 of the Protection of Personal and Property Rights Act 1988, they should take legal advice.
If the candidate is an employee of the council, they must resign before taking up their position as an elected member. The rules of some councils may require them to take leave for campaigning prior to the election.

There are no formal qualifications required to become a candidate in the local elections. Elected members come from all walks of life and have a desire to serve their community.

Affiliations

The nomination paper provides a space for a candidate to put an affiliation. An affiliation is described in section 57(3) Local Electoral Act 2001 as “an endorsement by any organisation or group (whether incorporated or unincorporated)”.

No affiliation that might cause offence, or is likely to confuse or mislead electors, will be accepted by the electoral officer.

Iwi and hapū endorsement

If candidates wish to list whānau, hapū or iwi details as an affiliation, an endorsement or confirmation letter from a Marae, Whānau Trust, Iwi Authority, or other Māori organisation would be required. It is acknowledged whakapapa is a birth right and situations may occur where candidates may not feel they need to provide proof, in which case whakapapa can be highlighted in the context of the candidate profile statement and other forums and activities.

Independent candidates

Candidates who are not part of a political party or group sometimes identify their affiliation as “Independent” or leave as blank (if left blank, nothing will show alongside the name of the candidate on the voting document).

Party affiliations

A candidate requiring a specific party affiliation should have authority to adopt the affiliation from the party, organisation or group concerned (i.e. the electoral officer may require a letter of consent from the party, organisation or group giving its consent for the candidate to use the affiliation). This is a safety measure to avoid any illegal adoption of party, group or organisation affiliations.

Multiple affiliations

Situations may arise where the same affiliation is given by two or more candidates, or a candidate provides multiple affiliations. If a candidate provides multiple affiliations, an electoral officer may require multiple endorsement or confirmation letters.

Character length for affiliations

Note that there are length limits to a candidate’s affiliation. The voting document and candidate booklet allows 38 characters before the affiliation truncates.

How do I do my candidate nomination?

Nominations open on Friday 15 July and close on Friday 12 August 2022 at midday. Nominations must be lodged with the electoral officer at the council the person is standing for.

Lodgement should not be left until the last day because if there are any problems with the details provided there might be insufficient time to resolve them and the nominee could miss out.

150-word candidate profile statement

Candidates may provide the electoral officer with a candidate profile statement with their nomination. This is a statement of up to 150 words containing information about themselves and their policies and intentions if elected.

The profile may include a recent passport size photograph. The candidate profile statement must be true and accurate. The electoral officer is not required to verify or investigate any information included in this statement and it will be included with the voting document sent to each elector.

If candidates choose not to supply a profile statement or photograph, then a message will appear in the profile booklet that a statement/photograph was not supplied by the candidate.

If a candidate profile statement is submitted in Māori and English, the information contained in each language must be substantially consistent with the information contained in the other language. Therefore, in the case where a candidate includes a mihi or greeting as part of a candidate profile statement provided in Māori, the mihi or greeting should be explained in the English version in a manner substantially consistent with the Māori version – still within the 150-word limit.

Standing for more than one position

If a candidate is standing for more than one position, they are allowed a candidate profile statement for each position.

In addition, the candidate profile statement:

must state whether or not the candidate’s principal place of residence, being the address in respect of which the candidate is registered as a parliamentary elector, is in the local government area for which the candidate seeks election (for example, either “My principal place of residence is in the Lambton Ward” or “My principal place of residence is not in the Lambton Ward”); and
if the candidate is seeking election to any other positions in elections to which the Local Electoral Act 2001 applies, must specify each position and state that the candidate is seeking to be elected to the positions.

These statements are not counted as part of the 150-word limit.

How much does it cost to lodge a nomination?

It costs $200 incl. GST to lodge a nomination for each position standing. The funds must be deposited to the electoral officer by close of nominations (midday 12 August 2022).