Election 2014: Hawkes Bay results

Craig Foss , National MP for Tukituki.

National Party candidate Craig Foss is pulling away as he continues to build his early lead in the contest for the Tukituki seat.

Incumbent Mr Foss has a 2384 majority over Labour candidate Anna Lorke with 15.9 per cent of the vote already counted for the electorate, says the Electoral Commission.

Mr Foss has a total of 5348 votes while Mrs Lorke has 2964 votes, Stephen Jenkinson (Conservative) is in third place with 514 and Chris Perley (Greens) in fourth with 431.

A total of 9486 votes have been counted for Tukituki.

This is the fifth election for Mr Foss who first contested the Tukituki electorate in 2002 but was beaten.

He contested again in 2005 and won the Tukituki seat and entered Parliament, before holding his seat again in the 2008 and 2011 elections.

This is Mrs Lorke's first political campaign after a career in public relations.

Early results for the Ikaroa Rawhiti electorate puts Labour's Meka Whaitiri in the lead over her rivals.

With 12.5 per cent of votes counted, 49-year-old mother-of-two already has a margin of 1000 over next-placed Mana Movement candidate Te Hamua Nikora. She had 2431 votes, Mr Nikora 1331, Maori Party candidate Marama Fox 954, Green candidate Henare Kani 459, Independent Cathryn Eden 52, and Expats candidate Vicky Rose 41.

Elected in a by-election last June and with family, friends and party supporters tonight at the Clive Rugby Club, Ms Whaitiri became just the fifth MP to represent her Ngati Kahungunu people of Hawke's Bay and Wairarapa in 81 years.

She was one of eight MPs to take office during the term of the 50th Parliament, which saw a record nine mid-term departures.

Hawke's Bay and Wairarapa Maori seats have been Labour since 1936, apart from New Zealand First Tight Five member Rana Waitai's three years in the single term of Te Puku o Te Whenua electorate, introduced when the number of Maori electorates was increased from four to five with the introduction of MMP in 1996.

Ikaroa Rawhiti was established in 1999, covering the area of six general electorates from East Coast to Hutt South, and the tribal regions of Ngati Porou - Potikirua ki Te Toka-a-Taiau, Te Aitangi-a-Mahaki, Rongowhakaata, Ngai Tamanuhiri and Hawke's Bay-Wairarapa iwi Ngati Kahungunu.

Early results for the Napier electorate put Labour's Stuart Nash in a strong position over rivals Wayne Walford of National and Garth McVicar of the Conservatives.

With 13.1 per cent of the votes counted, Mr Nash had 4782 votes, 1283 more than Mr Walford on 3499. Mr McVicar was third with 2304 votes.

The Napier electorate has traditionally been a Labour stronghold but National's has held it since 2005. Sitting MP Chris Tremain announced last year he would retire from politics at this election.

Mr Nash, who was a Napier-based list MP from 2008 to 2011, stood as an electorate candidate in the seat in the 2011 election, but lost to Mr Tremain by 3701 votes.