Council CE says voting information error ‘incredibly disappointing'

Published on 10 September 2025

Whanganui District Council’s chief executive says the omission of Māori Ward candidate profiles from the information booklet supplied with voting papers this week, is incredibly disappointing and he is insisting on immediate action by Electionz to address the situation.

David Langford says, “Electionz is employed to run the election process and the council’s role is to promote the election and encourage voter participation.”

He says, “I will be meeting with the managing director of Electionz this afternoon. I am assured they have already started the process of getting the missing information out to voters.

“Just over half of submissions received when we consulted our community last year were in favour of Māori wards,” says Langford, “and we’re concerned this incident could have a negative impact on this year’s referendum on Māori wards.

“While this error was not a council mistake, I apologise to our Māori ward candidates and voting community. This is not a mana-enhancing way to treat our Māori ward candidates, who’ve taken the courageous step of putting themselves forward.”

He says, “I acknowledge that Electionz have been quick to acknowledge their mistake and to issue their own apology.”

Langford says he supports calls for a review of this incident. “Examining mistakes is the only way we learn from them, so they are not repeated.”

All candidate information, including video profiles, was uploaded to the council website shortly after nominations closed in early August.