26 July 2013

Considering standing for Council?

The first of three prospective Local Government candidate seminars ahead of the 2013 elections will be held next week.

Electoral Officer Dr John Annabell says local government and local democracy are fundamental to our society giving the opportunity for everyone’s voice to be heard.

“The Mayor and Councillors exercise a leadership role in Palmerston North, Ashhurst, Linton, Longburn, Bunnythorpe and Kairanga and represent the views of the community.”

“In order for Council to represent the diversity of our community we need a range of elected members of different ages, ethnicities and backgrounds.”

Dr Annabell says anyone over the age of 18 can stand for election, as long as they are a New Zealand citizen and are enrolled on the electoral roll.

The seminars will be held in the Council Chamber in the Civic Administration Building in the Square on the following times and dates:
• 1pm Thursday 4 July
• 7pm Wednesday 17 July
• 7pm Tuesday 6 August

Nominations open on 19 July and close on 16 August.

For further information on standing as a candidate visit pncc.govt.nz or lgnz.co.nz
2013 Local Government Elections in Palmerston North – Two major changes you should be aware of:

Citywide elections: Elections will be held for Mayor and 15 Councillors. The Councillors will be elected on a city-wide basis, so that all electors participate in electing the required number of Councillors.

STV: This year Palmerston North City Council will use the STV voting system, which has been in use by the MidCentral District Health Board for a number of years. This year STV will be used by a further seven councils including Wellington (city and regional), Dunedin, Porirua and Kāpiti.

In an STV election you use numbers instead of ticks. Instead of putting a tick beside the candidates you want to vote for, you rank them with numbers. In other words you put them in order of preference. You begin with ‘1’, for the person you like best.

By giving the number 1 to a candidate, you are saying that the candidate is your number one choice. By ranking candidate in your preferred order – 1, 2, 3, 4, and so on – you are saying which other candidates you prefer if your top choice doesn’t have enough support to get in, or does not need all the votes they received in order to be elected.

You can rank all the candidates on the voting document, or as few candidates as you wish.

ENDS

© Scoop Media