MEDIA RELEASE

Friday 15 March 2013
Electoral Commission
Te Kaitiaki Take Kōwhiri

MAORI ELECTORAL OPTION ABOUT TO BEGIN

All Māori who are eligible to enrol and vote are about to get an important choice - whether they want to be on the Māori Roll or the General Roll when they vote in the next two general elections.

A nationwide advertising campaign kicks off this weekend ahead of the March 25 launch of the 2013 Māori Electoral Option.

“The Māori Electoral Option only happens once every five years or so, and it’s the only time Māori get to make the choice,” says Murray Wicks, Enrolment Services’ National Manager.

“People who are already enrolled, and who told us they were Māori or of Maori descent when they enrolled, will be sent a personalised Māori Electoral Option pack in the mail on Monday 25 March,” says Mr Wicks. “It will give them all the information they need to make their choice.”

“It’s an important choice, as it determines whether people will be voting for an MP in a Maori electorate or a General electorate at the next two general elections,” says Mr Wicks. “But every voter, regardless of which electoral roll they are on or where they live in the country, has the same list of political parties to choose from when using their Party Vote.”

Only New Zealand Māori or descendants of New Zealand Māori can be registered on the Māori Electoral Roll. Under the Electoral Act, everyone else is not regarded as New Zealand Māori and must register on the General Roll.

There are currently 427,000 people identified as Māori enrolled to vote. 235,000 are on the Māori Roll and 192,000 on the General Roll.

The results of the Māori Electoral Option together with the results of the 2013 Census are used to determine the number of Māori and General Electorates there will be in Parliament and to revise electorate boundaries.

The number of Māori Electorates since 1993 is detailed below.
1993 General Election 4 Māori Electorates
1996 General Election 5 Māori Electorates
1999 General Election 6 Māori Electorates
2002 General Election 7 Māori Electorates
2005 General Election 7 Māori Electorates
2008 General Election 7 Māori Electorates
2011 General Election 7 Māori Electorates

More information about the Māori Electoral Option is available from www.elections.org.nz.

ENDS

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