Waikato Herald

Eight vie for Ma¯ ori ward seat

Voting in byelection to open next month

Eight candidates are standing in Hamilton City Council’s Kirikiriro­a Māori Ward byelection. They are Jarrad Gallagher, Horiana Henderson, Maria Te Aukaha Huata, Riki Manarangi, Danielle Marks, Donna Pokere-phillips, Marian Ruri and Olly Te Ua.

In the 2022 local election, Henderson, Manarangi and Pokere-phillips unsuccessf­ully stood for the mayoralty. Te Ua is a current Māngai Māori representa­tive on the council’s Community and Natural Environmen­t Committee.

The number of candidates standing in the byelection is higher than the number of candidates who stood for the ward in 2022 as part of the local election.

Back then, six candidates threw their hats in the ring for the position.

The byelection was caused by the resignatio­n of previous Kirikiriro­a Mā ori ward councillor Melaina Huaki.

Huaki announced her resignatio­n last month citing health reasons. She was sworn in as one of two inaugural Kirikiriro­a Maāori wards in 2022, alongside Moko Tauariki.

Nomination­s for the byelection closed at midday Tuesday. Voting will open next month, on Tuesday, July 16 and close on August 7.

Voting packs will arrive in the mail between July 16 and July 24.

It’s a postal vote, and only those registered on the Māori electoral roll will be allowed to vote and receive their voting papers in the mail.

It is a Single Transferab­le Vote (STV) election, so people are asked to rank the candidate rather than tick the box next to their preferred candidate. After voting, return the voting paper in a ballot box or post box.

For more informatio­n visit hamilton.govt.nz/candidates.

The council said it understood the changes signalled to Mā ori ward legislatio­n by the coalition Government would have no bearing on the byelection.

The Kirikiriro­a Māori Ward byelection is the council’s second byelection in less than three months.

In February, a byelection was held to fill the seat left by former Hamilton city councillor Ryan Hamilton who was elected a Member of Parliament in the October general election.