Northland by-election date set

Northland MP Mike Sabin quit Parliament late last week.

The date for the Northland by-election has been confirmed for the end of March.

Prime Minister John Key today announced the date had been set for Saturday, March 28.

It follows the resignation of Northland MP Mike Sabin, who stood down on Friday for personal reasons.

"This date gives parties sufficient time to prepare, while allowing the process to move ahead," Mr Key said today.

The date was confirmed following discussions with the Electoral Commission, Mr Key's office said.

The by-election writ day will be Monday, February 23, and the deadline for candidate nominations to be received will be midday on Tuesday March 3.

The last day for the return of the writ will be Tuesday April 14.

Shortly after Mr Key announced the date of the by-election, National said it had opened nominations for candidates.

"While the Northland electorate has been held by the National Party for many years, by-elections traditionally see lower turnouts and smaller margins," said National Party president Peter Goodfellow.

"We will not be taking Northland for granted and my message to the successful candidate will be: prepare to put in the hard yards, we've got a big job ahead."

The selection process would be "robust and highly democratic", Mr Goodfellow said, with hopefuls submitting a formal application followed by a pre-selection panel interview.

"Successful applicants then go before local part members for a final selection to elect the candidate who can best represent the electorate," he said.

National's nominations would be open until midday, Thursday February 12, with final candidate selection to take place before the end of the month, Mr Goodfellow said.