Whanganui District Council chief executive, David Langford, says the omission of Māori Ward candidate profiles from an information booklet supplied with voting papers this week, is incredibly disappointing.
Mr Langford is calling for immediate action by Electionz to address the situation.
“Electionz is employed to run the election process and the council’s role is to promote the election and encourage voter participation,” he said.
“Just over half of submissions received when we consulted our community last year were in favour of Māori wards and we’re concerned this incident could have a negative impact on this year’s referendum on Māori wards.
“While this error was not a council mistake, I apologise to our Māori ward candidates and voting community. This is not a mana-enhancing way to treat our Māori ward candidates, who’ve taken the courageous step of putting themselves forward.”
He said Electionz had been quick to acknowledge its mistake and to issue an apology.
“Electionz.com has already sent out an individual letter, with the candidate profiles included, to all 4,810 people on the Māori electoral roll in Whanganui. They have done this at their cost, not the ratepayers. They should arrive in the next few days.”
Mr Langford says he supports calls for a review of this incident.
“Examining mistakes is the only way we learn from them, so they are not repeated,” he said.
