Candidate nominations close this week

Published on 08 August 2022

There are just a few days left for candidates intending to stand in Whanganui’s local elections to get their nominations in. With nominations set to close at noon on August 12, candidates are being urged not to leave their paperwork until the last minute.

As of Monday 8 August, Whanganui District Council has received 10 nominations.

Whanganui District Council deputy electoral officer Kate Barnes encourages candidates to submit their nomination as early as possible.

“Council will accept nominations right up until noon on Friday but if there are any issues with your paperwork there might not be enough time to fix them before the deadline.

“We’re really excited to see a good range of candidates for Whanganui, and it would be a shame for our community to miss out on diverse representation on Council because of paperwork.”

Whanganui has twelve council seats plus the mayoralty and seven community board seats up for grabs in these elections.

Whanganui District Council chief executive, David Langford, says it’s not too late for people to put their hand up to help create and guide the vision for Whanganui into the future.

He says, “If you are an enthusiastic member of our community and have an exciting vision of the future potential of Whanganui, and for how we can enhance our wellbeing, then I encourage you to stand in the 2022 election.

“One of the most important functions of our elected members is to help create a vision that guides what we do into the future. Our local body elections are a fantastic opportunity for us to come together as a community and explore and debate what it is we want from our future.”

“Candidates can get up to speed by reading the pre-election report which covers all the important topics they can expect to engage with as elected members. The report looks at the past three years – the electoral term leading up to this year’s election – and touches on key issues and challenges facing our district, and the council’s planned work and aspirations for the community and district in the coming three years (the next electoral term).”

If you’ve ever considered representing your community and making a difference in Whanganui – now’s the time to put your best foot forward. Candidates just need to be 18 years or over, a New Zealand citizen and enrolled on the electoral roll. Find out if you’re enrolled at vote.nz.

Once all nominations are in on 12 August, voters will be able to find out more about candidates and their priorities for Whanganui on votewhanganui.nz.

Voting papers will be sent out between September 16 and 21. They must be returned by midday Saturday, October 8. Preliminary results would be released that afternoon.

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Contact:

Sarah Pomeroy

Communications and Marketing Manager

Whanganui District Council

027 550 2469

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