In all seven Māori electorates, the top party vote is for Labour.
At the party’s election night headquarters, ecstatic cheers erupted, with supporters waving flags and breaking into song when results showed Kaipara had a 4600-strong lead in the Tāmaki Makaurau electorate.
Te Pāti Māori co-leaders Debbie Ngarewa-Packer and Rawiri Waititi. Photo / Mark Mitchell
The mood quickly shifted from relaxed anticipation to jubilant celebration as the numbers rolled in.
One supporter summed up the feeling in the room: “For Oriini, the election and this event are about the people. But the people are here for Oriini.”
Incumbent Labour MP Cushla Tangaere-Manuel is again leading the race in Ikaroa-Rāwhiti.
With a lead of 2924 votes over TPM candidate Haley Maxwell with 99% of the vote counted, the seat is certain to remain with Tangaere-Manuel.
The Te Tai Tonga electorate has switched from TPM to Labour, with Mananui Ramden holding a strong lead of more than 2750 votes.
Interestingly, the candidate coming in second place is not TPM, but the Green Party’s Lisa Te Morenga. TPM candidate Lisa Marie Murch is in third place, with about 19.1% of the vote.
In 2023, the seat was won by then TPM candidate Tākuta Ferris, who later ran as an independent after being expelled from the party for controversial social media posts.
Te Tai Tokerau’s seat also shows a TPM win in Edwards.
However, the Green Party’s Hūhana Lyndon is a close second, with a difference of just over 460 votes. With special votes still to be counted, there is still an opportunity for that result to change.
– Additional reporting by Lois Turei