Waihī Beach byelection triggered in Western Bay of Plenty as Alan Kurtovich resigns

A byelection has been triggered for Waihī Beach.

A byelection has been triggered for another Western Bay of Plenty District Council community board.

Today, the council announced Waihī Beach Community Board member Alan Kurtovich had resigned.

The byelection is the second to be announced in as many weeks after Te Puke Community Board member Anish Paudel stepped down on August 8 for what a council staff member called “personal reasons and changing priorities”.

Kurtovich, who was deputy chairman of the board, was stepping down effective immediately, the council said in a statement.

A byelection must be held to fill the vacant seat because it is more than 12 months before the next local body election in 2025.

The council previously said the Te Puke byelection was expected to cost local ratepayers about $23,000.

Kurtovich received 844 votes in the October 2022 local body elections to be elected alongside Ross Goudie (809), Dani Simpson (740) and Heather Marie Guptill (527).

In the council statement, electoral officer Dale Ofsoske said the byelection process would start on Friday, with nomination papers available to pick up and the electoral roll available for inspection.

To be eligible to stand in the byelection, a candidate must be enrolled as a Parliamentary elector; be a New Zealand citizen; and be nominated by two electors of the Waihī Beach Community Board area.

If more than one nomination is received when nominations close at midday on September 22, a postal ballot will be held for the electors of the Waihī Beach Community Board area.

If voting is required, it will run from October 27 to November 18.

Waihī byelection

Key dates:

• Nominations open/roll opens: Friday, August 25
• Nominations close/roll closes: Midday, September 22
• Voting opens (if more than one nomination): Friday, September 27
• Voting closes: Saturday, November 18

Nomination papers will be available from:

• Waihī Beach Library and Service Centre, 106 Beach Road
• Western Bay of Plenty District Council’s main office on Barkes Corner, 1484 Cameron Road, Greerton, Tauranga
• Council’s byelections 2023 page: westernbay.govt.nz/council/elections
• Electoral 0800 number: 0800 922 822

Source: Western Bay of Plenty District Council.