Allegations against Maori Party candidate Wetex Kang a 'smear campaign', says Tuku Morgan

Maori Party president Tuku Morgan says allegations against candidate Wetex Kang amount to a smear campaign and he has nothing to answer for.

"It's a smear campaign on the Maori Party. Baseless attack on the party, and on a candidate that has a real chance of taking Botany," Morgan said.

Morgan spoke at a press conference this afternoon following Herald revelations the Electoral Commission was investigating Wetex Kang's campaign for allegedly offering online cash credits on Chinese social media app WeChat.

The commission said it had received complaints alleging Kang's campaign offered "hong bao dollars" or online money envelopes on WeChat.

Hong bao is a Chinese tradition of gifting money in a red envelope usually on special occasions, and was adopted for the digital age when WeChat introduced the ability to distribute virtual red envelopes of money to contacts and groups via its mobile platform for the 2014 Chinese New Year.

The commission has also this morning apologised for inadvertently releasing screenshots which identified the person who had taken the photos to Kang's campaign team.

A spokeswoman said the commission does not identify individuals in relation to complaints and it was "regrettable" that this has occurred.

The commission said Kang had been informed that the person identified was not the person who made the complaint.

Kang was announced by the party a last month as its first Asian candidate and its candidate for Botany.

He is a beekeeper and a former pharmacist, and has been asked by the party to stop using WeChat.

The Electoral Act 1993 forbids bribes or treats in exchange for votes.