Maori electoral roll numbers up

An additional 14,914 people have enrolled on the Maori roll, the Electoral Enrolment Centre announced today.

The Maori electoral option closed last week with 21,588 Maori changing the type of electoral roll they are on and another 10,280 Maori enrolling for the first time.

The 2006 Maori Electoral Option ran from April 3 until August 2, giving every eligible Maori the opportunity to choose to enrol on the general electoral roll or the Maori electoral roll.

The Electoral Enrolment Centre said the key results of the option were:

* An additional 14,914 Maori enrolled on the Maori roll (new enrolments and net result of roll type changes).

* 4634 fewer Maori enrolled on the general roll (new enrolments and net result of roll type changes).

* A total of 385,977 people who identified themselves as Maori are now enrolled to vote.

In total, 14,294 moved from the general roll to the Maori roll and 7294 moved from the Maori roll to the general roll.

Of the new enrolments of people of Maori descent, 7914 elected to be on the Maori roll and 2366 chose the general roll.

Government statistician Brian Pink will make an announcement on the number of Maori and general electorates by early February 2007 in accordance with the Electoral Act.

This information, together with other data from the 2006 Census, will then be used by the Representation Commission to determine the electorate boundaries.

These boundaries will be used for both general and Maori Electorates in the 2008 and 2011 elections.

The Maori Party has been campaigning hard to get more Maori electorate seats, but its original aim of increasing the numbers from seven to more than 10 has been scaled back to just one more.

Some have estimated that a gain of around 14,000 voters on the Maori roll would be enough for one more seat, but the final calculation is dependent on other factors.

- NZPA