The Green Party has today released its list for the 2026 General Election, and Yasmine Serhan the candidate for Glendene has been confirmed at 18. If the Green Party get 15 percent of the vote in November, Yasmine would be in Parliament.

Serhan is understood to be the first Palestinian candidate to stand for Parliament in Aotearoa New Zealand’s history, and if elected would be the first MP of Palestinian descent. She is a former early childhood teacher, and is a highly respected union and community organiser. She brings competencies to several parliamentary portfolios and experience at the coalface of education and negotiating liveable wages for frontline workers.

Yasmine Serhan says, “I am standing for the Green Party to grow the party vote in Glendene and beyond. I want my candidacy to inspire my communities to see themselves in the Greens, because we have solutions that will support the aspirations of every worker, everyone who calls Aotearoa home,

“The Green Party will fight so that regular people can live dignified lives, for te taiao and tangata to be prioritised over profit and corporate greed. But to win those fights we need the Greens in government to stand up for all of us.

“Our friends, whānau, and the planet are all under pressure like never before. I speak with workers everyday who are struggling to afford the basics, whose wages aren’t keeping up, while access to public services is being undermined by underfunding and privatisation,” says Serhan.

“I will be campaigning to grow the Green party vote because with more Greens MPs, we can take action to turn back the tide of privatisation; rebalance power in this country, protect te taiao; and make sure everyone has what they need to live a good life.

“If elected, I will work tirelessly to restore employment rights and fair pay for all workers. I will be a champion for free, high-quality early childhood education so that all of our tamariki experience the best start in life. I will fight for climate action, such as investing in free public transport and investing in rail and well-paying green jobs so our rangatahi can see they have a hopeful future on this whenua.”

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