Final Hastings/Havelock North ward byelection will see all council seats filled

After the upcoming byelection all the seats at the Hastings District Council table will be filled. Photo / File

As of Thursday this week, 13 per cent of eligible voters in the Hastings/Havelock North ward byelection, or 4285 of a potential 32,638 voters, had sent in their returns ahead of voting closing at noon on April 11.

This byelection was triggered by the election of former ward councillor and deputy mayor Sandra Hazlehurst as mayor in November last year, leaving a gap to fill in the Hastings/Havelock North ward, allocated eight representatives.

It will be a relief for voters arguably suffering some election fatigue in a year of change that all started when former mayor Lawrence Yule decided to run for the position of National's Tukituki MP in the general election, and former Hastings/Havelock North ward councillor Adrienne Pierce stood for National's Palmerston North electorate.

Leaving two seats open, a byelection in November last year saw Wendy Schollum fill Ms Pierce's seat, and Mrs Hazlehurst's election as mayor created another vacancy in the ward.

Voter turnout for the November mayoral and councillor byelection was slow to start, with only 28 per cent of eligible voters having sent their returns up until the past few days, but ending up at a turnout of 38.7 per cent.

The official count, including verification of special votes would then take place, and a public notice on the final result issued as soon as possible on or after Monday, April 16.

Hastings ratepayers were footing a hefty bill for the byelections.

A council spokesperson said the combined cost of the mayoral and councillor by-election process in November was $130,869. It was estimated the cost of the upcoming councillor byelection would be about $89,000.