My Account
The final accounting in October’s general election saw Te Pāti Māori end Labour’s nine-year hold on Te Tai Tokerau, the Māori electorate that covers our readership area.
The counting of special votes saw Mariameno Kapa-Kingi of Te Pāti Māori oust Labour’s Kelvin Davis. Davis had an election night lead of 487 votes, but the final result flipped that, giving Kapa-Kingi victory by a 517-vote margin.
Although Davis was re-elected to Parliament on the Labour party list, he has stepped down as the party’s deputy leader, a post taken up by Carmel Sepuloni.
The Te Pāti Māori victory in Te Tai Tokerau was part of a countrywide trend that produced the party’s biggest caucus in Parliament – six MPs – since its launch in 2004.
Te Tai Tokerau covers the area from the top of the North Island to parts of north and west Auckland, and includes all of the Kaipara ki Mahurangi and Whangaparāoa general electorates.
Final results gave Kapa-Kingi 10,428 votes to Davis’ 9911. The other candidates were Hūhana Lyndon of the Greens (4187 votes), Legalise Cannabis candidate Maki Herbert (1923 votes) and independent Paturiri Toautu (443 votes). Lyndon was elected to Parliament on the Greens party list.
