Nominations for candidates in the upcoming Tauranga City Council elections open today.

Electoral Officer Warwick Lampp said the council was seeking candidates of all ages, ethnicities and backgrounds.

The local body elections will be held in October 2016. Voters will be electing 11 representatives - Mayor, four councillors at large and two councillors for each of the following wards, Mount Maunganui-Papamoa Ward, Otumoetai-Bethlehem and Te Papa-Welcome Bay Ward.

To find out more about the role of the council and what it was like to be a city councillor, the council wuld be holding a candidate information session on July 18 from 7pm in the council offices. No pre-registration is required and prospective candidates are welcome to turn up on the day.

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Nominations close at noon on August 12. Prospective candidates are being urged not to leave it until the last minute.

Quick checklist for prospective candidates
To be eligible to stand, prospective nominees must be New Zealand citizens, over 18 years of age and on the electoral roll.
Candidates don't have to live in the area in which they want to stand.
A candidate cannot nominate themselves. Two people who are enrolled in the area or ward they want to stand in must nominate them.
A nomination deposit of $200 is payable for each position candidates wish to contest.

The preliminary electoral roll of electors will be available for inspection from today, held by the deputy electoral officer on the ground floor of the council offices and at all city libraries.

Tauranga residents and home-owners were also being reminded they needed to be enrolled to vote in the elections. If you own a home in Tauranga, but live outside of the area, you are eligible to vote.

Check you are enrolled at http://www.elections.org.nz


More information about the elections is available on the council's website.