Labour candidate Kelvin Davis, a former Minister of Corrections, has narrowly reclaimed victory as the MP for Te Tai Tokerau.
Labour candidate Kelvin Davis, a former Minister of Corrections, has narrowly reclaimed victory as the MP for Te Tai Tokerau.
Kelvin Davis looks to have narrowly held on to his Te Tai Tokerau seat for another term, following an intense neck-and-neck race with Te Pāti Māori candidate Mariameno Kapa-Kīngi.
But with special votes yet to be counted, the result could still change.
As votes trickled in on Saturday, Davis was ahead of Kapa-Kīngi by only 21 votes at one point, but by 9am on Sunday, Davis had widened the gap, coming in at (7792) 487 votes ahead of Kapa-Kīngi (7305).
The result was in stark contrast to the 2020 election result, whereby Davis won more than half of the total votes counted (14,932), with an 8164 majority over second-placed Kapa-Kīngi (6,768 votes).
The electorate has remained a Labour stronghold held by Davis since 2014, having taken it from previous MP Hone Harawira, who had held it since 2005.
The former Minister of Corrections said while he was saddened by his party’s result, he was grateful to be back representing Te Tai Tokerau.
“I’m always fairly relaxed and knew what would be, would be, but I’m grateful that it was mandated by the people of Tai Tokerau, which I’ve never taken for granted,” Davis said.
“The overwhelming feeling I have, though, is of sadness for those who haven’t made it back in, because a lot of people have worked really hard, particularly in the Māori caucus.
“Like Nanaia Mahuta, who was able to get Māori wards into councils, introduce affordable water reforms and worked to get Matariki acknowledged as an official public holiday.
“People tend to forget that stuff, but we have to respect the mood of the nation, and the people have spoken.”
Davis (who is expecting their whānau’s first mokopuna), said he held real concerns for a National/Act Government and how the gains made for Māoridom by his government would be undone.
He said with National’s Northland candidate Grant McCallum now the MP for Northland, he was determined to work together for the benefit of the region.
Davis’ biggest rival Kapa-Kīngi was seventh on the Te Pāti Māori list and would have to wait until all special and overseas votes were counted to know if she would get a place in Parliament.
Kapa-Kīngi said she spent election night at Terenga Paraoa Marae in Whangarei surrounded by her whānau, and had woken up Sunday morning feeling extremely pleased and in love with her people.
“It was a really close night, but right now all I feel is just love for our whānau who have come through across the motu, which really shows how our mokopuna are rising,” Kapa-Kīngi said.
“I don’t know what the count will be in the end, but there are enough that have been counted from a Māori worldview and a lot of people who had not voted before who voted this time, so that fills me with great hope for our future.
It was a nerve-racking evening for Te Pāti Māori Te Tai Tokerau candidate Mariameno Kapa-Kīngi.
“It’s a great day to reflect, and I hope this election has sealed our position in the minds of people and has shown this is not just a two-horse race.
“Moving forward, we must focus on making sure that we’re never in that position again and that this becomes the norm.”
The Green Party was another winner at this year’s election, making history winning 14 seats, with special and overseas votes yet to be counted.
Te Tai Tokerau Green Party candidate and ‘daughter of the North’, Hūhana Lyndon, came in at 3127 votes, marking the most impressive Green campaign for Te Tai Tokerau.
The former Ngāti Wai Trust Board and Ngāti Hine Forestry Trust CEO was ranked number 10 on her party list, making her one of the party’s newest list MPs.
Green Party Te Tai Tokerau candidate Hūhana Lyndon grew her party's presence in the region to 9 per cent. She is now also one of the party's new list MPs.
Lyndon said it had been great to celebrate her win in Waitangi on Saturday, and she was feeling energised about the challenge ahead.
“I’ve grown the party vote to 9 per cent, which is a great win because we haven’t had a presence like this before, so it’s great to see the Green connection and the relevance we have with te iwi Māori,” Lyndon said.
“I’m really grateful to everyone who voted and supported us and who worked hard for this result.
“I feel like crying to be honest, but people wanted a change, so this is what their choices were.”
Moving forward, Herbert said she would be working with the hemp industry and would be advocating for law reform for both the hemp and cannabis industries.
She also wanted addiction to be seen as a health issue rather than a criminal issue.
Toautu was contacted for comment, but is yet to respond.
