Mana had battled against a lack of resources, but still received the same amount of coverage other minor parties had and got its messages out, she said.
"Perhaps some were disappointed because there was a hope we could get 2 or 3 per cent, but I think we can be proud."
Ms Sykes, who is No 2 on the party's list, stood against the incumbent Maori Party MP Te Ururoa Flavell in the Waiariki electorate, and was beaten by 1820 votes.
"I got a late start, but I went from zero to 5000 in three weeks so I'm really pleased with how I went."
Less positive about the party's performance was its No 3, John Minto, who said he was disappointed but not surprised.
Mr Minto, who placed fourth in the Manukau East electorate race with 402 votes, said the party had been chasing the party vote hard, but the message had not got across.
While Act and United Future also returned just one MP, both parties are set to sign deals with National to be part of the Government.
Mr Harawira, who was ruled out of a deal with National and Labour before the election, may lack allies in Parliament and there have been questions over how effective he would be at pushing policy.
However, Mr Minto disagreed that Mana would not have a voice, saying Mr Harawira had not ruled out working with other parties and would be able to raise the party's point of view in debates.
Mana would also continue to fight from outside Parliament, he said.
Looking at the long term, Ms Sykes said she saw a possibility for Mana and the Maori Party to merge with Mr Harawira at the helm.
