Special votes add to Peters' final majority

The special votes now counted only add to Winston Peters majority win in Northland.

New Zealand First leader Winston Peters has increased his majority to 4441 votes and Labour's Willow-Jean Prime is set to lose her deposit for failing to get a big enough share of the vote, according to official results for the Northland byelection.

On election night, before special votes were counted, Mr Peters led National's Mark Osborne by 4012.

The increased majority rubs salt into National's wounds, which won Northland just six months earlier with a 9300-vote majority.

The official results released yesterday also show Mrs Prime will lose her $300 deposit for failing to win 5 per cent of the total votes cast.

She needed more than 1502 votes to get her deposit back but gained just 1380 in the official count after party leader Andrew Little gave supporters a clear hint to vote strategically for Mr Peters.

In the 2014 general election, without the "Winston factor", she gained 8969 votes.

Candidates are required to pay a deposit to ensure they are serious about contesting the election.

Northland confirmed its reputation as the nation's cannabis capital by awarding Maki Herbert, of the Aotearoa Legalise Cannabis Party, the fourth biggest share of the vote, after National, Labour and Focus NZ.

One of the surprises was Mana candidate Rueben Taipari Porter's low tally of 60 votes, placing him behind Ms Herbert and ACT's Robin Grieve, and well below the 1014 votes he gained when he ran for Far North mayor in 2013.

A total of 30,047 votes were cast, representing a turnout of just over 65 per cent.

While that is 5660 votes fewer than at the 2014 general election, it is a high turnout for a byelection. Mr Osborne and Mrs Prime have said they are keen to contest the 2017 general election.

- Official results:

Winston Peters (New Zealand First) 16,089; Mark Osborne (National) 11,648; Willow-Jean Prime (Labour) 1380; Joe Carr (Focus NZ) 113; Maki Herbert (Aotearoa Legalise Cannabis) 94; Robin Grieve (ACT) 68; Rueben Taipari Porter (Mana) 60; Rob Painting (Climate) 39; Bruce Rogan (independent) 24; Adrian Paul Bonner (independent) 17; Adam Holland (independent) 16.