Kelly Chal

Kelly Chal is a former New Zealand politician. She was elected to parliament as a member of the United Future party and held her seat for 17 days before it was realised she was ineligible, not being a New Zealand citizen.

Early life

Chal was born in India to a Sikh father and a Christian mother. She herself is Christian. Te Ara - The Encyclopedia of New Zealand describes her as "an Indian-born Englishwoman who had not taken out New Zealand citizenship."[1] In New Zealand, she worked as a case manager for the Accident Compensation Corporation and as a career counsellor.

Member of Parliament
New Zealand Parliament
Years Term Electorate List Party
2002 47th List 5 United Future

In the 2002 election the United Future party ranked Chal fifth on its party list, and therefore she was expected to enter parliament. After the election, however, it emerged that Chal could not legally stand for election, as she lacked New Zealand citizenship.[2] As a result, she was removed from the party list, allowing Paul Adams to enter parliament in her place.

It was suggested that legal action might be taken against Chal, as she had signed a declaration that she was eligible to stand. The authorities eventually decided, however, that Chal had made an honest mistake.[3] Chal did not contest the 2005 election.

References
  1. "Citizenship of Members of Parliament". Te Ara - The Encyclopedia of New Zealand. Manatū Taonga Ministry for Culture and Heritage. Retrieved 12 July 2022.
  2. David Green. "Citizenship of members of Parliament", Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand. Updated 21 September 2007.
  3. "No police probe into Chal error". Television New Zealand. 19 August 2002. Retrieved 8 October 2011. Chief electoral officer David Henry has completed an investigation into her candidacy, and says it appears Chal's error was the result of confusion.


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