Mana | Movement of the People

MANA SEEKS TAI TOKERAU RECOUNT

The MANA Movement is supporting Leader Hone Harawira’s application for a judicial re-count in the Te Tai Tokerau electorate for the 2014 general election.

President Lisa McNab says there are a number of serious issues of concern regarding the ability of Maori voters to exercise their basic democratic right to vote.

“A judicial re-count will enable some independent scrutiny of some the processes by which hundreds of votes were discarded”, said Mrs McNab.

“We want to ensure that the votes of the people in his electorate are counted to the full extent possible. We are especially concerned about the rejection of special votes rejected because voters could not be found on the electoral roll prepared for the 2014 general election.”

A specific request has been made for the assigned judge to look, not only at the actual votes, but also the basis on which special votes were rejected due to the enrolment status of the voter.

“Irrespective of whether the recount changes the result of the election in Te Tai Tokerau, these issues need to be independently examined and substantial improvements made ahead of the next election to ensure our people’s basic rights are respected and their participation in the democratic process is encouraged and affirmed.”

ENDS

For further information, please contact Skye Kimura-Paul on 027 881 9999