Te Pāti Māori president John Tamihere calls for investigation into Electoral Commission

John Tamihere says voting stations in Manurewa and Hoani Waititi Marae (above) ran out of forms. Photo / Tumamao Harawira

President of Te Pāti Māori president John Tamihere is calling for an immediate investigation into the Electoral Commission.

“We just want to rock up to a polling booth and be treated like non-Māori.”

Tamihere says that there were many occasions when voting stations in Manurewa and Hoani Waititi Marae ran out of forms.

“Not just once but five days over there they ran out of voting forms for Māori so, if that’s happening at these places, it’s happening at a lot of places and we are getting the evidence in on that.”

Just 18,000 votes were cast in the electorate of Tāmaki Makaurau. Labour’s Peeni Henare retained his seat but special votes may unseat him. He’s just 495 votes ahead of Takutai Kemp of Te Pāti Māori.

But the Electoral Commission denies Tamihere’s claims that booths had run out of forms.

Te Pāti Māori party president John Tamihere. Photo / Mike Scott

“Right across the country, voting places were well stocked with voting papers ahead of election day. Our staff monitor stocks of voting papers and enrolment forms, and if they are running low, they will ask for new supplies to be dropped off,” a commission spokesperson said.

“It was busy at the Manurewa Marae and Hoani Waititi voting places, which reflected that they were popular places for local voters, and we thank voters for their patience on the day.

“We’ve checked with our staff and can confirm we did not run out of voting papers on election day at either of those voting places. A mobile team brought in new supplies to keep them stocked and make sure they didn’t run out.

“No one was turned away from voting. If a voting place is busy and there’s a wait, our staff might suggest another voting place that’s quieter.”

Tamihere says he will consider calling for a new election after November 3 if there are seats that are “too close to call”.