National Advisory: Tsunami activity

1:58pm TSUNAMI UPDATE
Following an 8.7 quake off Kamchatka, Russia at 11:25am on 30 July 2025, strong and unusual currents and surges may affect NZ coasts. First activity may reach Northland around 11:59pm tonight.
See link for details

Civil Defence NZ

2025 Local Elections

Whangarei District Council is made up of the Mayor and councillors who represent our local communities.

Local elections are held every three years to choose our representatives on Council.

The next local election will be held by postal vote from 9 September to 11 October 2025.

The elections are your chance to vote for your local representative to influence the decisions Council makes that affect us all.

The community will also be asked to vote in a poll on whether to keep or remove the Māori ward.

Key election dates

Check you are enrolled to vote

1 September 2024 to 1 August 2025

Consider being a candidate

1 September 2024 to 4 July 2025

Candidates Information Evening

5:00pm to 7:30pm on Wednesday 4 June 2025

Candidate nominations

Friday 4 July to 12:00pm, Friday 1 August 2025

Electoral roll closes

12:00pm, Friday 1 August 2025

Voting papers sent to enrolled voters

Tuesday 9 September to Monday 22 September 2025

Voting period

Tuesday 9 September to 12:00pm, Saturday 11 October 2025

Preliminary results published

Saturday 11 October 2025

Final results announced

Friday 17 October to Sunday 19 October 2025

Elections guide

Everything you need to know - from key dates to how to enrol, stand as a candidate, and cast your vote.

2025 Local Elections Guide(PDF, 1MB)

Enquiries

Use our online form to make an enquiry about the Local Elections.

Enquire online

Related acts

Elections are conducted under the:

Local Electoral Act 2001
Local Electoral Regulations 2001
Local Government Act 2002

All about local government (votelocal.co.nz)

Electoral system

We will use the Single Transferable Vote (STV) for the 2025 local election. Find out more about the electoral system.

Whangārei District Wards

Find your ward and the elected members representing that ward. You can search to find the ward you will be voting in.

Enrol to vote

Find out about enrolling for the local election, how to enrol, what to do if you are already enrolled, Māori and general rolls, resident and ratepayer rolls.

Stand for Council

Find out about standing for Council, nominations and forms, social media requirements, election signs and other candidate information.

Candidates

Find out who is standing as a candidate and who you can vote for in the 2025 local elections.

Vote

Find out about voting in the local elections, the voting process, who can vote, how to vote, NZ post box locations, youth voting and special votes.

Māori Ward Poll

Find out about the poll in the local elections where electors will vote on whether to keep or remove the Whangārei District Māori ward and the Northland Regional Council Māori constituency.

Past elections

Find out about past local government elections including voting results, final voter returns, and donations and expenses.

Related news

Notice of election and poll

Published on 02 July 2025

This notice gives notice of the election and poll, nomination of candidates and the closing date for nominations for the 2025 elections of Whangarei District Council.

Tagged as: , Elections, Public notice

Standing for election draws interested group

Published on 11 June 2025

A committed and involved audience of aspiring local government politicians attended the joint Whangārei District Council and Northland Regional Council Candidates Information Evening on Wednesday 4 June 2025.

Tagged as: , Elected council, Events and activities

Take it to the next level at the local elections

Published on 28 May 2025

Simon Weston, Chief Executive of Whangarei District Council, encourages anyone thinking of running for Council to come along to the Candidates Information Evening on Wednesday 4 June 2025.

Tagged as: , Elections

Local authority elections on 11 October 2025

Published on 20 May 2025

Local authority elections will be held on Saturday 11 October 2025. This notice tells you how to enrol, and who can enrol as a ratepayer elector, so you can vote in the elections. The electoral roll closes on Friday 1 August 2025.

Tagged as: , Elections, Public notice

Local elections 2025 – here’s what you need to know

Published on 07 May 2025

It’s a local elections year and the Deputy Electoral Officer for Whangārei District, Nicolene Pestana, says there are two key differences to look out for.

Tagged as: , Elections

Māori Ward faces public referendum in 2025

Published on 10 September 2024

Council has decided that the Whangārei District Māori Ward will remain in place until the 2028 elections. At the 2025 local government elections, there will be a binding referendum in which all voters may vote for or against retention of the Māori Ward.

Tagged as: , Elections