The 2019 New Zealand local elections were triennial elections to select

local government Local government is a generic term for the lowest tiers of public administration within a particular sovereign state. This particular usage of the word government refers specifically to a level of administration that is both geographically-loca ...

officials and district health board members. Under section 10 of the Local Electoral Act 2001, a "general election of members of every local authority or community board must be held on the second Saturday in October in every third year" from the date the Act came into effect in 2001, meaning 12 October 2019. Most of the local elections were run by one of two companies on behalf of individual local bodies. Sometimes the company also provides the electoral officer.

Election schedule

Key dates relating to the general election were as follows:

Results

In Auckland,

Phil Goff Philip Bruce Goff (born 22 June 1953) is a New Zealand politician. He was a member of the New Zealand Parliament from 1981 to 1990 and again from 1993 to 2016. He served as leader of the Labour Party and leader of the Opposition between 11 No ...

was re-elected Mayor and at least 16 of the city's 20 councillors retained their seats, with two new councillors winning seats which were vacated by retirement. In Hamilton, incumbent mayor Andrew King lost to Paula Southgate, who previously challenged him in 2016, while four controversial councillors were voted out of office. In Wellington incumbent mayor Justin Lester was unseated by Andy Foster, who received a high-profile endorsement from filmmaker Sir

Peter Jackson Sir Peter Robert Jackson (born 31 October 1961) is a New Zealand film director, screenwriter and producer. He is best known as the director, writer and producer of the ''Lord of the Rings'' trilogy (2001–2003) and the ''Hobbit'' trilogy ( ...

. The election also marked the first time a Green Party member was elected to serve as a mayor in New Zealand, with Aaron Hawkins being elected Mayor of Dunedin. According to ''

The Spinoff ''The Spinoff'' is a New Zealand online magazine and news website that was founded in 2014. It is known for current affairs coverage, political and social analysis, and cultural commentary. It earns money through commercial sponsorship and su ...

'' editor Toby Manhire, the 2019 local elections had the lowest number of candidate nominations relative to the total number of available seats. Of the 572 local body elections held that year, 101 seats and positions were not contested while 235 candidates were elected unopposed.

Mayoral election summary

Regional council chairs

There are sixteen regions for

purposes. Eleven are administered by regional councils and five are administered by

unitary authorities A unitary authority is a local authority responsible for all local government functions within its area or performing additional functions that elsewhere are usually performed by a higher level of sub-national government or the national governmen ...

: Auckland, Gisborne, Tasman, Nelson, and Marlborough. In unitary authorities, the local mayor is the head of government. In the remaining regional councils, the elected members vote for their chair and deputy.

Detailed information

* 2019 Northland local elections *

2019 Auckland local elections The 2019 Auckland local elections took place between September and October 2019 by postal vote as part of nation-wide local elections. The elections were the fourth since the merger of seven councils into the Auckland Council, which is composed ...

* 2019 Waikato local elections *

2019 Bay of Plenty local elections The 2019 Bay of Plenty local elections were part of the wider 2019 New Zealand local elections, to elect members to sub-national councils and boards. The Bay of Plenty elections cover one regional council (Bay of Plenty Regional Council), seven te ...

* 2019 Gisborne local elections *

2019 Hawke's Bay local elections Nineteen or 19 may refer to: * 19 (number), the natural number following 18 and preceding 20 * one of the years 19 BC, AD 19, 1919, 2019 Films * 19 (film), ''19'' (film), a 2001 Japanese film * Nineteen (film), ''Nineteen'' (film), a 1987 sci ...

* 2019 Taranaki local elections * 2019 Manawatū-Whanganui local elections *

2019 Wellington local elections The 2019 Wellington Region local elections were part of the wider 2019 New Zealand local elections, to elect members to sub-national councils and boards. These elections covered one regional council (the Greater Wellington Regional Council), ei ...

* 2019 Tasman local elections * 2019 Nelson local elections * 2019 Marlborough local elections * 2019 West Coast local elections *

2019 Canterbury local elections Nineteen or 19 may refer to: * 19 (number), the natural number following 18 and preceding 20 * one of the years 19 BC, AD 19, 1919, 2019 Films * 19 (film), ''19'' (film), a 2001 Japanese film * Nineteen (film), ''Nineteen'' (film), a 1987 sci ...

* 2019 Otago local elections * 2019 Southland local elections

References

{{New Zealand elections

Local elections In many parts of the world, local elections take place to select office-holders in local government, such as mayors and councillors. Elections to positions within a city or town are often known as "municipal elections". Their form and conduct vary ...

Local 2019 October 2019 events in New Zealand