Whanganui records highest voter turnout since 2016

Published on 17 October 2025

With the results for Whanganui’s 2025 local elections now officially declared, Whanganui District Council has confirmed a final voter turnout of 50.32 percent – the district’s highest turnout since 2016, and one of the highest turnouts recorded by larger districts nationwide.

Democracy Services Manager Anna Palamountain says reaching the 50 percent mark is no small feat in an era when turnout for local government elections has been trending downward across of most of Aotearoa.

“This result means more than half of eligible voters in Whanganui have stood up and been counted, which is really pleasing to see. The last time we achieved that feat was in 2016 – so as a community we should be proud.”

Palamountain says that in terms of districts with 30,000 electors or more, Whanganui may have finished with the highest voter turnout in the country.

“We’re still waiting on some results to be declared by a handful of councils, but at this stage we are tracking to be right up there with the highest turnouts for larger districts. As a town we have a strong history of civic pride and community engagement – and I think we saw that again this election.”

The declaration of the result also confirms Whanganui has voted to keep our Māori Ward for the 2028 and 2031 elections – with the final tally in the poll showing 8,292 people voted to keep the ward versus 7,462 people who voted to remove it.

In terms of the mayor, councillors, and Rural Community Board positions, the results remain unchanged.

Palamountain said it was important to acknowledge the mahi put in by everyone involved in the 2025 Stand Up, Be Counted campaign – as it was local collaboration that helped drive the result.

“We saw a real collective effort – whether it was the council staff working late (or over weekends) to help people vote, the community organisations who held ‘meet the candidates’ nights or pop-up voting events, or the businesses who hosted orange voting bins.

“Then there’s the performers who lit up our Up the Vote event, local reggae band NLC who provided our campaign theme song (Be Counted), and comedian Kajun Brooking whose videos helped show people how easy it is to enrol!

“But most importantly, I want to acknowledge the efforts of those in our community who not only got out and voted – but also encouraged their friends and whanau to as well. Local democracy works best when everyone is represented, so we salute you for your efforts!”

The national average voter turnout will be confirmed by the Department of Internal Affairs once all councils have finalised their counts.

To view the final declaration of result in full, visit electionz.com