2023 Port Waikato by-election

A by-election in the Port Waikato electorate in New Zealand will be held on 25 November 2023. This by-election was triggered by the death of Neil Christensen, who was a candidate for the ACT Party. Christensen's death occurred after the close of candidate nominations but before polling day for the 2023 New Zealand general election.

2023 Port Waikato by-election
25 November 2023
Port Waikato constituency of the House of Representatives
 
Candidate Andrew Bayly
Party National


Background

2023 general election

Advance voting for the 2023 general election started on 2 October 2023.[1] Christensen's death was announced on 9 October 2023, one week into the advanced voting period.[2] As New Zealand uses a mixed-member proportional voting system, Port Waikato continued to vote in the general election for the party vote, but the electorate vote was suspended and any electorate votes already cast were nullified.[3][4][5] It was the first time since the 1957 election that an electorate vote has been delayed due to the death of a candidate.[6] One of the effects of this by-election will be that the 54th Parliament will have at least 121 seats instead of 120. The official results, to be released on 3 November, will be based on 71 electorate MPs and 49 list MPs to make up a 120-seat parliament. Once the Port Waikato by-election results are determined, a 72nd electorate MP will enter parliament.[3]

Electorate

The Port Waikato electorate was first established in 1996 ahead of the first MMP election. It was abolished in 2008 and reinstated for the 2020 election. The electorate stretches from the Manukau Heads at the southern entrance to the Manukau Harbour south past the eponymous settlement of Port Waikato, to Matira and Pepepe, and inland to Mangatāwhiri and the Maramarua Forest. Pukekohe is the largest population centre in the electorate; other significant towns include Pōkeno, Te Kauwhata, Tuakau and Waiuku. The electorate includes the New Zealand Steel mill at Glenbrook, and the lower reaches of the Waikato River.[7]

Between the 2013 and 2018 censuses, the Port Waikato electorate experienced annual average population growth of 3.3%, considerably higher than the annual average rate for New Zealand as a whole (2.1%). The electorate is predominantly European (78.2%) and Maori (19.0%), with the shares of those identifying as Asian (8.8%), or Pacific Peoples (6.1%), somewhat lower than the average shares for New Zealand as a whole. Over a quarter (26.3%) of families had family income between $100,000 and $150,000 per year – the second-largest share among general electorates.[7]

Election schedule

Key dates relating to the by-election are as follows:[8]

10 October (Tuesday) Port Waikato electorate by-election dates formally announced
16 October (Monday) Writ Day Governor General issues writ directing the Electoral Commission to hold the Port Waikato by-election
20 October, noon (Friday) Nominations close for candidates in the Port Waikato by-election
20 October (Friday) Port Waikato by-election candidates announced by the Electoral Commission
21 October (Saturday) Ballot paper printing starts
8 November (Wednesday) Overseas voting starts
13 November (Monday) Advance voting starts
24 November (Friday) All political advertising ceases and election signs taken down by midnight
25 November (Saturday) Election day for Port Waikato by-election
Voting places open from 9am to 7pm
25 November (Saturday) Preliminary Results progressively available from 7pm
6 December (Wednesday) Official Results declared (including special declaration and overseas votes)
11 December (Monday) Deadline for applications for judicial recount
12 December (Tuesday) Return of Writ by Electoral Commission naming successful candidate (presuming no recount)
26 March 2024 (Tuesday) Deadline for Returns of Candidate Election Expenses and Donations to Electoral Commission

Candidates

All candidates who were to contest Port Waikato at the 2023 general election were re-nominated unless they withdrew their nomination.[9] The Labour Party announced on 20 October that its candidate Gwendoline Keel would not contest the by-election, as the party viewed it as "unwinnable".[10] Green Party candidate Karla Buchanan also withdrew her nomination, while ACT did not put up a replacement candidate.[11]

Party Candidate Background
National Andrew Bayly Incumbent MP for Port Waikato; originally nominated for the general election
DemocracyNZ Scotty Bright Originally nominated for the general election
NZ First Casey Costello Originally nominated for the general election
Independent Gordon Dickson New nomination; stood in East Coast at the general election.
NewZeal Alf Ngaro New nomination; originally nominated as a list-only candidate for the general election
Women's Rights Jill Ovens New nomination; originally nominated as a list-only candidate for the general election
Animal Justice Anna Rippon Originally nominated for the general election
Vision NZ Vijay Sudhamalla Originally nominated for the general election
New Zealand Loyal Kim Turner Originally nominated for the general election

References
  1. "About the 2023 General Election". Vote NZ. Archived from the original on 19 January 2023. Retrieved 12 October 2023.
  2. "ACT's Port Waikato candidate, Neil Christensen, dies". Waikato Times. 10 October 2023. Retrieved 12 October 2023.
  3. Cheng, Derek (9 October 2023). "Election 2023: Act candidate Neil Christensen dies, by-election to be held for Port Waikato". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 9 October 2023.
  4. Ensor, Jamie (9 October 2023). "Election 2023: By-election to be held after election after candidate dies". Newshub. Retrieved 9 October 2023.
  5. Sowman-Lund, Stewart (9 October 2023). "What the Port Waikato byelection means for the next parliament". The Spinoff. Retrieved 12 October 2023.
  6. "Clutha Election for January 18". The Press. Vol. XCVI, no. 28452. 5 December 1957. p. 16. Retrieved 18 February 2022.
  7. "Port Waikato electorate profile". Parliamentary Library. 3 August 2020. Retrieved 10 October 2023. This article incorporates text by the Parliamentary Library available under the CC BY 4.0 license.
  8. "Key dates for Port Waikato by-election". Elections.nz. 14 October 2023. Retrieved 10 October 2023.
  9. "Electoral Act 1993, section 153E(4)".
  10. "Port Waikato by-election: Labour won't stand a candidate in 'unwinnable' by-election". RNZ. 20 October 2023.
  11. "Port Waikato by-election candidates announced". Electoral Commission. Retrieved 20 October 2023.
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