The expense of a by-election for the Tāneatua Community Board could have been avoided if prospective candidates had followed advice not to leave their applications to the last day.
Whakatāne District Council building. Photo: LDR / Diane McCarthy
Nominations for the upcoming local government elections closed at noon on Friday, 12 August. The Tāneatua Community Board, which requires six members, had only four nominees, which means a by-election will need to be held, probably in February next year.
However, Whakatāne District Council's deputy electoral officer Cindy Butt said there were three incomplete or incorrect nominations that were not able to be accepted.
"These came from the Murupara Community Board Subdivision (Galatea-Waiohau) and Tāneatua Community Board areas. A Tāneatua Community Board by-election would have been avoided had those nominations been accepted.
"We worked to promote the message that submitting a nomination form can be somewhat convoluted, to give potential candidates time to meet with staff to help them through that. We appreciate, however, that the decision to stand for a position in council is not one made lightly and some make that decision towards the end of the timeframe available to submit a nomination.
"There are a number of legislative checks and measures that prevent us from accepting incorrect or late nominations," Butt said.
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