Local body elections  |  4 Aug 2025

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Nominations have closed, and the names are in for October’s local body elections.

Eight people will contest Christchurch’s mayoralty, while 40 people are standing for Council seats.

Three Council seats have received one candidate, meaning the current Councillor will be re-elected unopposed. These are:

  • Harewood Ward
  • Waimairi Ward
  • Hornby Ward

Seventy people will contest the Community Board positions.

View the list of candidates for Christchurch. 

Election Officer Warwick Lampp welcomed the confirmation of the candidates.

“It’s great to have this phase of the election finalised as we move towards electing the new Council in October.”

Mr Lampp said this election all candidates will be offered an opportunity to film a short video about themselves.

The videos will be filmed on council premises, administered by council staff and published on the Council website in September.

Read about the issues facing Christchurch this election.

The current Council is expected to meet for the final time on 17 September.

After the election results are confirmed by 19 October, the new Council will hold an inaugural meeting where they will set a date for their first ordinary meeting.

Voting

Voting papers for the elections will start arriving in enrolled voters’ letterboxes from 9 September.

All voters can cast a vote for their preferred Mayoral candidate, while Councillors and Community Board members will be elected by voters from the wards they are seeking to represent.

The electoral roll has now closed, but those not on the roll can still participate in the election through special voting.

Voting for the election closes at noon, Saturday 11 October.

Voters can post their completed voting papers into any NZ Post or DX Mail post box by Tuesday, 7 October.

Orange vote bins

Completed voting papers can also be dropped into an orange vote bin at Council facilities and locations in your community.

List of confirmed locations for vote bins.

The list contains the locations that are confirmed to host vote bins as of 29 July. New locations may be added to the list in the future.

Key dates

  • 9 September: Voting and special voting begins. 
  • Between 9 September and 22 September: Voting documents delivered. 
  • 11 October: Election day. Voting closes at noon. Progress results will be available that afternoon. 
  • By 19 October: Declaration of results.