Voters in Hawke's Bay Local Elections 2016 can give themselves a surprising tick of approval after coming out in greater numbers than they did when the last triennial poll for mayors, councils and health boards took place in 2013.
Voting figures for final declarations in the Napier, Hastings, Central Hawke's Bay and Tararua elections, and preliminary figures for Wairoa, show the number of voters in the region increased by about 1700 - despite downward nationwide trends and expectations for most of the three week postal vote that public engagement with the selection of the people to runs their towns and districts was continuing a downward slide.
The turnout throughout the region was about 48 per cent in both the 2013 elections and the polls which finished last Saturday.
Numbers were up in Hastings, Central Hawke's Bay, and Tararua, for which the final declarations were made yesterday, and in Wairoa, where the final declaration isn't expected before Monday.
But they were down over 1200 in Napier.