An affiliation shows a candidate is officially supported by a political party, organisation or a group that shares an agreement on ideas, beliefs or policies.
Affiliations can influence how people vote, participate in politics or view certain topics and issues.
If you’re running on your own and are not part of an organisation or group, you can list your affiliation as “independent” or leave the section blank on the nomination form.
If you’re interested in joining an existing affiliation, contact the organisation or group directly to discuss membership.
You can create your own affiliation. You do not need to register it in advance with the Electoral Officer before lodging your nomination.
To start your own affiliation, form a group of like-minded people and choose a name which reflects the group’s values and goals.
A candidate requiring a specific political party, candidate group or organisation affiliation must have authority to adopt that affiliation. An approval letter/email from the relevant political party/organisation showing their consent for use of that affiliation should be included when submitting the nomination form.
This is a safety measure to avoid any illegal adoption of party/organisation affiliations and ensures affiliations are used legally and transparently with the public.
The nomination paper includes a field to allow a candidate to list an affiliation of up to 38 characters (including any spaces). This will be strictly enforced.
Affiliations that will not be accepted include those:
If candidates wish to list whānau, hapū or iwi details as an affiliation, an endorsement or confirmation letter from a Marae, Whānau Trust, Iwi Authority, or other Māori organisation would be required.
It is acknowledged whakapapa is a birth right and situations may occur where candidates may not feel they need to provide proof, in which case, whakapapa can be highlighted in the context of the candidate profile statement and other forums and activities.
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