Whilst current Hurunui District Mayor Marie Black is elected unopposed in the forthcoming Local Body Elections, there is significant competition for seats around the Council table.

When nominations closed at midday today, August 12, 10 candidates had been nominated for the four seats in the South Ward and four had been nominated for the two seats in the East Ward. In the West Ward, four nominations had been received for the four available seats and therefore these four candidates are deemed to be elected unopposed.

There is also strong interest in the positions on the Cheviot Licensing Trust with eight nominations for the six positions, while an election will not be required for the Hanmer Springs Community Board, with the number of nominations matching the five vacancies.

Chief Executive Officer Hamish Dobbie was pleased to see good levels of interest from candidates wishing to serve their communities by standing for Council.

“Thank you to the candidates who have been nominated, it’s great to see local democracy is alive and well in the Hurunui District. Traditionally we see high levels of voter participation in our local elections. Last election voter turnout in the Hurunui District was sixth-highest nationally, so I am interested to see how high we get in this election,” said Dobbie.

Voting documents will be delivered from September 16th, which is when Special Voting and Early Processing will begin.

Election Day is on Saturday October 8th, voting will close at midday.

For more information and to view the nominations, please visit https://www.hurunui.govt.nz/council/local-body-elections

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