Becoming a candidate

Find out more about how to become a candidate for the 2023 General Election.

Democracy is only possible if people are prepared to put themselves forward for a chance to represent their community.

Voters and political parties can nominate candidates to contest the general election.

For the general election, there are two types of candidates:

  • Electorate candidates who stand for election in electorates, and
  • List candidates on party lists who may be elected through the party vote.

A $300 deposit must be paid with an electorate candidate nomination.

A $1,000 deposit must be paid for the nomination of a party's list of candidates.

There are strict deadlines for nominations. Key dates to be aware of if you are standing as a candidate include:

Monday 28 August Candidate nominations open - lodge your candidate nomination form and deposit from this date
Sunday 10 September Writ day - the Governor-General issues a formal direction to the Electoral Commission to hold the election - nominations can be formally accepted once the writ has been issued 
Noon Thursday 14 September Deadline for bulk nomination of electorate candidates and party lists
Noon Friday 15 September Deadline for nominations for candidates using the individual nomination process
Saturday 16 September Electorate candidate names and party lists published on vote.nz

 

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