Last minute uptick in regional council candidates, 50 mayors seek re-election

5:00 am on 2 August 2025

A ballot box in the 2023 general election.

Following nominations closing on Friday, now just 20 regional and unitary council seats will be filled without contest. Photo: Marika Khabazi / RNZ

A last minute uptick in candidates means all councils will have an election for some or all of their seats.

Just 48 hours out from local government nominations closing, 47 regional council seats across the country's 16 regional and unitary councils faced either not having an election or triggering a by-election because of a lack of candidates.

Following nominations closing on Friday, a Te Uru Kahika - Regional and Unitary Councils spokesperson said now just 20 seats would be filled without contest.

Local Government New Zealand said of the 11 regional council chairs, six were standing for re-election (55 percent) while five had opted not to stand again (45 percent).

Meanwhile, 50 of sitting mayors were confirmed as standing for re-election (75 percent) while 16 Mayors (25 percent) had opted not to.

LGNZ said the numbers were an improvement on the 2022 local elections, when 46 sitting mayors chose to stand again (70 percent) and 20 opted out (30 percent).

Of the mayors standing for re-election, LGNZ said 26 were first-termers, 14 had completed two terms and 10 had served over three terms in office.

The longest serving mayors seeking re-election were Upper Hutt's Wayne Guppy and Stratford's Neil Volzke, who were seeking their ninth and seventh terms respectively.

Of the 16 mayors not standing again, six were first-term mayors, four had completed a second term, and six had served more than three terms in office. Of those, Clutha's Bryan Cadogan had served the longest with five terms.

The 16 mayors not standing are: