UPDATE: Auckland elections candidates confirmed
A total of 477 candidates are now confirmed to stand in Auckland’s local elections.
Following the final scrutiny of nominations since the preliminary announcement on Friday 1 August, the full cohort of candidates have now been validated.
“All nominations were received on time prior to the deadline, however due to nomination details that couldn’t be verified until after close of business on Friday, these nominees can now be confirmed as valid,” says Election Services Electoral Officer, Dale Ofsoske.
“Some details could not be confirmed until this morning.”
The total number of candidates means 477 candidates will compete for 172 positions – a record number of nominations since 2013. This year’s election has 12 candidates standing for mayor, 80 ward councillor candidates and 385 candidates for local board positions.
View the full list with additional names on Vote Auckland
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A total of 476 nominations for Auckland Elections 2025 were received as at midday Friday 1 August when nominations closed.
That’s 11 more than the total received in 2022 at this stage in the process, meaning all 172 positions will be filled with only two seats in Ōrākei and Rodney ward areas to be uncontested.
Twelve nominations were received for the mayoral position.
These nominations remain subject to the Electoral Officer’s final review and approval.
Due to a surge in nominations received at closing time, eligible nominees that weren’t validated by close of business on Friday 1 August will appear on the final list of candidates to be published on Monday 4 August, along with candidate public contact details at: voteauckland.co.nz/candidates
For urgent queries about the preliminary list of candidates ahead of the final list, contact Elections Officer, Dale Ofsoske from Election Services on +64 9 973 5212.
Governance and Engagement General Manager Lou-Ann Ballantyne is pleased with the progress for Auckland’s elections programme.
“We are thrilled to see this level of commitment from the Aucklanders willing to step up and represent Tāmaki Makaurau and their communities,” says Ms Ballantyne.
“Having a large and diverse range of candidates representing Auckland is just the first part of the democratic process. Hopefully this means there will be even stronger interest from voters,” she says.
As nominations draw to a close, the curtain will soon raise for the showdown of candidates seeking Auckland’s votes when voting opens on Tuesday 9 September.
“This election, voters will be able to learn more about candidates and decide who to vote for using our freshly upgraded VoteAuckland website.
“In addition to the full list of candidates, we will have an easy-to-use online directory so you can see who’s representing your area with detailed candidate profiles from Monday 1 September.”
“We’ve heard many people say they don’t vote because they don’t know who these people are and who they should vote for. The new dynamic online candidate directory should solve that problem.”
Voters will be able to type an address into the finder to identify which local board and ward their area is classed as. This search will narrow down which candidates are standing for that area.
“Once elected, representatives’ decisions will play a vital role in the services and facilities that impact your daily life, so it’s important to learn about who is up for election and choose who you think is right for you and your community,” adds Ms Ballantyne.
From Tuesday 9 September until Monday 22 September, enrolled voters can expect to receive voting papers in their letterboxes.
“That voting paper is more powerful than some may think – so we hope Aucklanders really take advantage of this opportunity to choose the right champion for Tāmaki Makaurau, otherwise someone else will choose for you,” she says.
Didn’t enrol in time and don’t think you’ll be getting voting papers? No problem! Where to pick up papers, how to enrol and vote and everything else about voting is at Vote Auckland.
