The purpose of a Pre-Election Report is to provide financial and non-financial information to promote public discussion about the key issues facing Council. It does not cover all the opportunities, issues, and challenges, but highlights the main ones. It demonstrates the range and complexity of the work Council does.

The report covers finances over the past three years before the 2022 Council election plus forecasts for the following three years and major projects currently happening and planned.

Download the 2022 Pre-Election Report - (PDF, 4 MB)

Our last local election was held in 2019. You can find voting statistics, the results and more information in the Elections 2019 section of our website.

• Elections 2019 and voting return information »
• View the results from the 2019 local elections »

Last year a representation review was carried out to review the Council structure and the way Councillors are elected. 

To see the final structure for the representation review, please see the Representation Review page.

Find out more about the Whakatāne District Representation Review 2021 »

We've put together a snapshot of the local elections for 2022, so you can have the key information in one handy document.

Check out our Local Elections 2022 fact sheet -  (PDF, 300 KB)

Video via YouTube: Local Elections - Ngā Kōwhiringa Pōti o Whakatāne.

Check out the 'Frequently Asked Questions' for answers to questions you might have about the election process, being a candidate, voting and more.

Download the Local Elections 2022 Frequently Asked Questions - (PDF, 450 KB)

Can't find an answer to a question you have? Get in touch with our team and we'll find it for you.

Electoral Officer
Dale Ofsoske | 09 973 5212 | dale.ofsoske@electionservices.co.nz
Deputy Electoral Officer
Cindy Butt | 027 205 3423 | Cindy.Butt@whakatane.govt.nz

If you're a citizen or permanent resident aged 18 years and over, you must enrol to vote. Voting is not compulsory, but it does give you a say in who represents you in Council.

Enrol or update your details online at vote.nz »

Or phone 0800 36 76 56 to be sent an enrolment pack.

If you're of Māori descent, you can enrol in either the General or Māori electoral rolls. If you're not of Māori descent, you can only enrol in the General electoral roll.

To decide which roll to enrol on, here’s some more information 

In the 2021 Representation Review, Māori wards were included in the final representation structure for the Whakatāne District Council. This means in this years local election, voters enrolled on the Māori electoral roll will vote for candidates contesting a Māori ward. 

To see how Māori Wards will work in the Council representation structure, check out our Māori wards page

For more information on Māori wards, please see the Taituarā Information booklet. 

• Voters on the Māori electoral roll will vote for candidates contesting a Māori ward
• Voters on the general electoral roll will vote for candidates contesting a general ward
• Everyone will vote for the Mayor and community board members 
• Voters on the Māori electoral roll will continue to vote for the candidates contesting the Māori constituencies in the Bay of Plenty Regional Council election and voters on the general electoral roll will continue to vote for the candidates contesting the general constituencies in the Bay of Plenty Regional Council election

Do you live in one area and pay rates on a property in another? If so, you may qualify to vote more than once at the local authority elections.

If you live and vote in one council district, but also pay rates on a property in another district, you may be eligible to enrol as a non-resident ratepayer elector in that other council district.

A firm, company, trust, corporation or society which pays rates on a property may nominate one of its members or officers as a non-resident ratepayer elector, provided that the nominator and the person nominated are both registered as Parliamentary electors at addresses which are outside the council district within which the property is situated.

In the case of partners, joint tenants and tenants in common, who collectively pay rates on a property, one of the group may be nominated to be entered on the ratepayer electoral roll. Again, the nominated person and the nominator must be registered as Parliamentary electors at addresses which are outside the council district within which the property is situated.

Ratepayer Elector Enrolment form