2025 Palmerston North City Council election
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The 2025 Palmerston North City Council election is an upcoming local election to be held from 9 September to 11 October in Palmerston North, New Zealand, as part of that year's nation-wide local elections. Voters will elect the mayor of Palmerston North and 15 city councillors for the 2025–2028 term of the Palmerston North City Council. Postal voting and the single transferable vote system will be used.
The council introduced a Māori ward at the 2022 election; its future will be decided in a referendum on the issue, as part of a nation-wide series of referendums.
Key dates
- 4 July 2025: Nominations for candidates will open
- 1 August 2025: Nominations for candidates will close at 12 pm
- 9 September 2025: Voting documents will be posted and voting will open
- 11 October 2025: Voting will close at 12 pm and progress/preliminary results will be published
- 16–19 October 2025: Final results will be declared.[1][2]
Background
Campaign
List of candidates
Incumbents not seeking re-election
Mayor
| Candidate | Affiliation[a] | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Orphée Mickalad | Councillor for the Te Hirawanui general ward since 2021[4][5] | |
| Grant Smith | Incumbent mayor since 2015[6][5] |
Councillors
Te Pūao Māori ward
Te Pūao Māori ward will return two councillors to the city council.[7]
| Candidate | Affiliation[a] | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Roly Fitzgerald | Incumbent councillor since 2022[8][5] | |
| Debbie Marshall-Lobb | Incumbent deputy mayor and councillor since 2022[8][5] |
Te Hirawanui general ward
Te Hirawanui general ward will return thirteen councillors to the city council.[7]
| Candidate | Affiliation[a] | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brent Barrett | Green | Incumbent councillor since 2016[9][5] | |
| Zulfiqar Butt | Labour | Former city councillor from 2019–2022[10] | |
| Vaughan Dennison | Incumbent councillor since 2001[11][5] | ||
| Nelson Harper | Chief executive of Precycle NZ[12] | ||
| Lorna Johnson | Labour | Incumbent councillor since 2016[10][5] | |
| Kaydee Zabelin | Green | Incumbent councillor since 2022[9][5] | |
Other local elections
Voters in the city will also elect members of the Horizons Regional Council (4 members from the city, 1 member partially from the city in the Tonga Māori constituency).[2][13]
See also
Notes
- ^ a b c A candidate may leave their affiliation blank, run as an independent, or run with an affiliation to an organisation, local body ticket or political party. Palmerston North City Council does not allow election slogans to be used for the affiliation.[3]
References
- ^ "2025 Elections". www.pncc.govt.nz. Palmerston North City Council. Retrieved 10 April 2025.
- ^ a b "Elections 2025". www.horizons.govt.nz. Horizons Regional Council. Retrieved 10 April 2025.
- ^ "PUKA ARATOHU KAITONO 2025 | 2025 CANDIDATE INFORMATION HANDBOOK" (PDF). www.pncc.govt.nz. Palmerston North City Council. p. 13. Retrieved 6 July 2025.
- ^ Rankin, Janine (17 May 2025). "Orphée Mickalad stands for Palmerston North mayoralty". Manawatū Standard. The Post. Retrieved 20 May 2025.
- ^ a b c d e f g h "Elected members". www.pncc.govt.nz. Palmerston North City Council. Retrieved 20 May 2025.
- ^ Rankin, Janine (16 June 2025). "Grant Smith to stand for another term as mayor". The Post. Retrieved 18 June 2025.
- ^ a b "How we elect our Council". www.pncc.govt.nz. Palmerston North City Council. Retrieved 10 April 2025.
- ^ a b Rankin, Janine (1 July 2025). "Palmerston North's deputy mayor seeks re-election". Manawatū Standard. The Post. Retrieved 1 July 2025.
- ^ a b "Greens back Barrett, Zabelin for re-election to city council". Manawatū Standard. 26 May 2025.
- ^ a b Rankin, Janine (24 February 2025). "Labour endorses Lorna Johnson, Zulfiqar Butt for local body election". Manawatū Standard. The Post. Retrieved 20 May 2025.
- ^ Rankin, Janine (5 July 2025). "Veteran councillor Vaughan Dennison stands again". Manawatū Standard. The Post. Retrieved 8 July 2025.
- ^ Rankin, Janine (2 July 2025). "Recycling technician Nelson Harper stands for city council". Manawatū Standard. The Post. Retrieved 3 July 2025.
- ^ "He Arotake Kanohitanga | Representation Review". www.horizons.govt.nz. Horizons Regional Council. Retrieved 10 April 2025.