Election 2014: 11 votes later, candidate's vanished

Adam Holland.

Losing elections by spectacular margins appears to be an art form for the lowest-polling political candidate.

Adam John Holland, who gained just 11 votes in the contest for Epsom, faces losing his third $300 nomination deposit in just over a year for failing to win at least 5 per cent of votes in an election.

His other two forays were in the Ikaroa-Rawhiti byelection in June last year and the Christchurch East byelection in November, in which he drew 15 and 31 votes respectively.

Mr Holland, announcing his candidacy in Epsom through the Scoop website on September 1, said National needed an "extremely reliable coalition partner" and he would like to work with it "in securing prosperity for all New Zealanders for the next three years at least".

But on the eve of the election, on Friday, he said that he had no intention of working with any political partners "if they don't want to legalise cannabis".

His initial statement said he had deep roots in Epsom, having lived, studied, worked as a volunteer firefighter, and socialised there for much of his life.

But he is not listed on the 2014 Epsom electoral role, and no longer lives at an Epsom address he gave the Electoral Commission in a signed declaration of expenses for the Christchurch East byelection.

Although he signed the return in April, residents of the property last night said he had not lived there since they took ownership of it in January, and believed he might have moved to Queenstown.