This story will be updated live as results roll in, and with updates from Rotorua Daily Post and Bay of Plenty Times reporters out and about in the electorate tonight.
WAIARIKI - preliminary count:
Te Pāti Māori co-leader Rawiri Waititi has claimed victory in Waiariki, telling the crowd “there is a tide turning” amid a surge of support for the party.
Arriving at the Sudima Hotel in Rotorua about 9pm, Waititi addressed the party faithful.
“There’s a tide turning, just with that I’m really excited of that regardless of the results. Our people are believing in themselves,” he said.
He acknowledged the party’s Rotorua electorate candidate, Merepeka Raukawa-Tait “for putting her hand out … her courage and her whānau.”
He thanked the Waiariki electorate “for giving me your support for the next three years”.
“We will welcome you, we will house you, we will feed you ... our party policy is all about that.”
He thanked his whānau, wife, babies, brothers and sisters who were “there when the time gets rough and the dark times when the sun is shining and I’m not home”.
“We want to ensure we have a strong voice for our people. Look at ourselves and we have built a movement ... we will continue to build a movement.”
He thanked those who had contributed to the campaign: “They have given us our taonga to fly”.
The crowd responded to his speech with a waiata about being proud to be Māori.
Waititi first won the seat in 2020 with a tight margin over Labour’s Tamati Coffey, but tonight with three-quarters of votes counted he had a margin of more than 9000 over Labour’s Toni Boynton.
At Whareroa Marae in Mount Maunganui, Toni Boynton gave credit to Waititi and Vision New Zealand’s candidate for Waiariki, Charles Tiki Hunia, saying they were both her cousins.
As a first-time candidate, Boyton was grateful to her whānau and supporters, saying she was really proud of all the work that had been done on the ground.
“I’m so proud of their efforts.”
In Rotorua, Vice president wahine Te Pāti Māori Fallyn Flavell said she had been involved with Te Pāti Māori for over 20 years and was “proud” of the party for gaining more party seats at this year’s election.
She said she was having an “awesome” night and was proud of Raukawa-Tait for “putting her hat in it” during this year’s election.
Shortly after results began rolling in, Te Pāti Māori issued a press release this evening promising to establish a Māori electoral commission after voting issues were reported today.
Waititi described the situation as “an absolute shambles”.
The Electoral Commission earlier said an issue with the electronic version of the electoral roll that caused delays at some voting booths across the country today had been fixed.
The Waiariki electorate covers the Bay of Plenty and Taupō region. Major population areas include Tauranga, Whakatāne, Rotorua and Taupō.
The winning candidate in the 2020 election was Waititi, who won the seat with 12,389 votes. The seat was won by a tight margin over Labour incumbent Tāmati Coffey.
There was a three-week wait for the special votes separating Waititi from Coffey by 836 votes.
Toni Boynton - Labour
This election is Boynton’s first year competing for the title of Warariki MP.
The Labour representative is currently serving as a councillor on the Whakatāne District Council.
Charles Tiki Hunia - Vision New Zealand
First-time candidate Charles Tiki Hunia has worked as an educator for 13 years, and in Rotorua for nearly two decades as a sports co-ordinator, a sports coach, a Māori liaison cultural adviser within the emergency housing sector, a facilitator of the Man Up New Zealand programme and within the community, helping voluntary church projects.
Hunia said he saw emergency housing, health and employment as the biggest issues facing the Waiariki electorate.
Rawiri Waititi - Te Pāti Māori
Waititi has held the MP title for Waiariki for the past three years. He was first elected in 2020 and is fighting to keep his title at this year’s election.
Waititi said he was standing because it was an “absolute privilege to represent the Waiariki for the last three years”.
He saw emergency housing, homelessness and the cost of living as the biggest issues facing the Waiariki electorate.
Michaela Pointon is an NZME reporter based in the Bay of Plenty and was formerly a feature writer.
The couple spend five months a year in America running their business.