2026 Ōtara-Papatoetoe Local Board by-election
9 April 2026
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4 of 7 seats of the Ōtara-Papatoetoe Local Board, representing the Papatoetoe subdivision | ||||||||||
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The 2026 Ōtara-Papatoetoe Local Board by-election is an upcoming local by-election for the Ōtara-Papatoetoe Local Board in Auckland, New Zealand, with voting to take place between 9 March and 9 April 2026. Voters will elect 4 board members representing the Papatoetoe subdivision. The winners will serve for the remainder of the 2025–2028 term.
Postal voting and the first past the post system will be used. Only voters who were qualified to vote in the Papatoetoe subdivision in the 2025 election are eligible to vote.[1]
Schedule
Key dates related to the by-election are:[2]
| 31 December 2025 | Candidate nominations opened |
| 28 January 2026 | Candidate nominations closed |
| 5 February 2026 | Election signs can be put up |
| 9 March 2026 | Start of voting period |
| 8 April 2026 | Election signs must be removed by midnight |
| 9 April 2026 | End of voting period |
| Preliminary results to be announced | |
| 10 April 2026 | Final results to be announced |
Background
Elections for the board members for the 2025–2028 term of the Ōtara-Papatoetoe Local Board had originally been held as part of the 2025 local elections. Papatoetoe saw a more than 7 percent increase in voter turnout compared to the previous election, and was the only area of Auckland to see turnout significantly increase.[3]
Following these elections, it was declared that all four seats for the Papatoetoe subdivision had been won by first-time candidates from the new Papatoetoe Ōtara Action Team ticket, with none of the previous board members having won re-election. However, these results were voided at a hearing at the Manukau District Court on 16 December 2025, following a petition alleging voting irregularities from former board member Vi Hausia.[4][5][6] As such, a by-election to fill the vacated seats is to be held with voting opening on 9 March 2026.[7]
The members of the Papatoetoe Ōtara Action Team ticket petitioned the High Court for an urgent judicial review of the District Court's decision.[8] High Court Justice Jane Anderson reserved her decision in February.[3] In March, Justice Anderson released her decision upholding the ruling of the District Court, meaning that the by-election would still go ahead.[9][10][11]
Campaign
Three tickets are running candidates for all four vacancies in the election: Labour, Papatoetoe Ōtara Action Team, and Independently Papatoetoe.[12]
During the campaign, racially motivated allegations of electoral fraud were targeted at the Indian and South Asian communities in Papatoetoe. Candidates from both the Papatoetoe Ōtara Action Team and Labour condemned such rhetoric as misinformation.[12]
Labour says it is campaigning on "protecting democracy", including under banners reading "Protect our Democracy". The Papatoetoe Ōtara Action Team alleged that the Labour candidates were using the district court decision during the campaign to imply that the Action Team had been involved in fraud in the October election and not explaining that the High Court judgement had stated that the Action Team had not been impugned by the case. Labour candidate Vi Hausia in turn accused the Action Team of using ethnicity issues to distract from the actual grounds for his petition to the district court.[13]
Candidates
Twenty candidates are contesting the by-election, with 12 candidates from the 2025 election re-contesting the seats along with eight new candidates. All four of the Papatoetoe Ōtara Action Team candidates whose results in the previous election were voided are running again.[14][15]
| Candidates[16] | Affiliation | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kunal Bhalla | Papatoetoe Otara Action Team | Candidate in the 2025 election[17] | |
| Ashraf Choudhary | Labour | Former MP and board member.[18] Candidate in the 2025 election[17] | |
| Harold Hirdeshwar Deo | None | ||
| Avinash Kaur Dhaliwal | Labour | Candidate in the 2025 election[17] | |
| Peter Dons | Independently Papatoetoe | Candidate in the 2025 election[17] | |
| Vi Hausia | Labour | Former board member.[18] Candidate in the 2025 election[17][19] | |
| Tuafuti Ka | Independent | Candidate in the 2025 election[17][20] | |
| Namrata Nandika Kumar | None | ||
| Chris Latham | Communities and Residents | Candidate in the 2025 election[17] | |
| Albert Lim | Independently Papatoetoe | Former board member.[18] Candidate in the 2025 election[17] | |
| John Loau | None | Candidate for the Upper Harbour Local Board in 2025[17][21] | |
| Karl Mokaraka | Independent | Candidate in the 2023 general election for the Vision NZ party[22] | |
| Kushma Nair | Papatoetoe Otara Action Team | Candidate in the 2025 election[17] | |
| Swanie Nelson | Independent | Former board member. Candidate in the 2025 election in the Ōtara subdivision.[17][14] | |
| Taitosaua Bill Peace | Independent | ||
| Sandeep Saini | Papatoetoe Otara Action Team | Candidate in the 2025 election[17] | |
| Jeet Singh | Papatoetoe Otara Action Team | Candidate in the 2025 election[17] | |
| Raj Singh | Labour | Candidate in the 2025 election[17] | |
| Alison Weakley | Independently Papatoetoe | ||
| Chris Webb | Independently Papatoetoe | ||
Results
Results will be released after the election.
| Affiliation | Candidate | Votes | % | +/− | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| to be determined | |||||
| Informal | |||||
| Blank | |||||
| Turnout | |||||
| Registered | |||||
| Labour incumbent | |||||
| Labour incumbent | |||||
| Independently Papatoetoe incumbent | |||||
| Labour incumbent | |||||
| † incumbent | |||||
References
- ^ "How to vote in the Papatoetoe Subdivision election | Vote Auckland". voteauckland.co.nz. Auckland City Council. Retrieved 27 February 2026.
- ^ "Key dates for 2026 Papatoetoe Subdivision local board election | Vote Auckland". voteauckland.co.nz. Auckland City Council. Retrieved 27 February 2026.
- ^ a b Sharma, Gaurav (17 February 2026). "Judge deciding whether to overturn Papatoetoe election ruling". RNZ. Retrieved 27 February 2026.
- ^ Tom, Blessen (16 December 2025). "Papatoetoe faces new local body election after voter fraud claims". RNZ. Retrieved 14 February 2026.
- ^ "Local board member results". voteauckland.co.nz. Auckland Council. Retrieved 12 February 2026.
- ^ Donnell, Hayden (16 December 2025). "Judge finds widespread voter fraud 'infected' the Papatoetoe local board election". The Spinoff. Retrieved 27 February 2026.
- ^ Afemata, Taelegalolo'u Mary (10 February 2026). "Papatoetoe election re-run begins under scrutiny". RNZ. Retrieved 14 February 2026.
- ^ Tom, Blessen; Sharma, Gaurav (8 January 2026). "Winners of void Auckland local body election seeking High Court judicial review". RNZ. Retrieved 27 February 2026.
- ^ Tom, Blessen (6 March 2026). "High Court upholds decision voiding Papatoetoe local election". RNZ. Retrieved 6 March 2026.
- ^ "High Court judge refuses to overturn order for new Papatoetoe election". Stuff. 6 March 2026. Retrieved 6 March 2026.
- ^ Afemata, Taelegalolo'u Mary (6 March 2026). "High Court ruling clears way for new Papatoetoe local board election". PMN | Pacific Media Network. Retrieved 6 March 2026.
- ^ a b Sharma, Gaurav (25 February 2026). "Auckland local body election rivals unite against racism". RNZ. Retrieved 27 February 2026.
- ^ Murphy, Tim (16 March 2026). "Fraud, racism and politics: A unique re-election in Auckland's south". Newsroom. Retrieved 20 March 2026.
- ^ a b Afemata, Taelegalolo'u Mary (29 January 2026). "Papatoetoe by-election attracts 20 candidates after last year's result". RNZ. Retrieved 27 February 2026.
- ^ Orsman, Bernard (29 January 2026). "Papatoetoe Action Team seeks re-election after claims of ballot fraud". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 27 February 2026.
- ^ "Candidates in the Papatoetoe Subdivision local election | Vote Auckland". voteauckland.co.nz. Auckland City Council. Retrieved 27 February 2026.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Local elections 2025 Final count at the Wayback Machine (archived 12 November 2025)
- ^ a b c Tom, Blessen (5 February 2026). "Papatoetoe candidates highlight magnitude of new local body election". RNZ. Retrieved 27 February 2026.
- ^ Afemata, Taelegalolo'u Mary (19 March 2026). "Vi Hausia fought to overturn an election result. Now, he's eyeing a seat on the board". PMN | Pacific Media Network. Retrieved 20 March 2026.
- ^ Afemata, Taelegalolo'u Mary (17 March 2026). "'People first': Futi Ka's pitch to Papatoetoe voters this election". PMN | Pacific Media Network. Retrieved 20 March 2026.
- ^ Afemata, Taelegalolo'u Mary (13 March 2026). "'You belong here': John Loau shares why he's running for Papatoetoe". PMN | Pacific Media Network. Retrieved 20 March 2026.
- ^ Afemata, Taelegalolo'u Mary (16 March 2026). "Pacific political hopeful Karl Mokaraka rejects 'serial heckling' label". PMN | Pacific Media Network. Retrieved 20 March 2026.