Wairarapa pair up for iwi board election

Wairarapa contenders for this month's Ngati Kahungunu Iwi Incorporated governance board triennial election include Nelson Rangi and Marama Tuuta. PHOTO/FILE

Two Wairarapa candidates are standing for the Ngati Kahungunu Iwi Incorporated (NKII) governance board.

The two candidates from the Ngati Kahungunu ki Wairarapa region, the southernmost of six areas affiliated to NKII in Hastings, are Nelson Rangi, incumbent board member and chairman of the Ngati Kahungunu ki Wairarapa governance board, and Marama Tuuta, deputy chairwoman of the Wairarapa board and the Kahungunu ki Wairarapa -- Tamaki Nui a Rua Trust.

Voting, online and by post, closes at noon on April 29 and will decide the 10 iwi leaders for the Ngati Kahungunu Iwi Incorporated Board and overall 21 iwi members will be elected for Kahungunu across the rohe.

There are three candidates for the position of Ngati Kahungunu Iwi Incorporated chairperson, including incumbent Ngahiwi Tomoana, who has held the post for two decades since the inception of the present organisation in 1996.

The organisation was previously known as Te Runanganui o Ngati Kahungunu Incorporated and was led by former Maori Party co-leader Dr Pita Sharples.

There are 61,626 people or 9.2 per cent of the Maori population, registered with Ngati Kahungunu, which is the third most populous and the second largest tribal region iwi in New Zealand.

Election results will be released at 4.30pm on April 29 at the NKII office in Hastings.