Electoral commission releases election information

File photo / Richard Robinson

Candidate information, party lists and voting booth information for the election on September 20 has landed - and the Expat Party has missed out.

The Electoral Commission this afternoon released the official nominations for the election, including 15 registered political parties and 554 candidates to contest the 64 general seats and seven Maori seats. And New Zealand First leader Winston Peters will not be standing in an electorate this election.

A notable omission from the list of registered parties is the Expat Party, which wanted to advocate for New Zealanders' rights, especially in Australia, but failed to register in time.

Along with the major political players, other parties include the Ban1080 party, Focus New Zealand, and the Civilian Party, which spawned from The Civilian satirical website creator Ben Uffindell.

Epsom and Tauranga have the most candidates with 11.

Only three will contest Hauraki-Waikato.

There is a substantial gender imbalance, with 390 men and 164 women standing.

Of the candidates this election:

• 71 candidates are party list only
• 114 are electorate only
• 38 are standing as independents or representing unregistered parties

The Electoral Commission is also publishing information about all the voting booths for election day, as well as for advanced voting, which opens from September 3.

People can still enroll right up until September 19, the day before the election.

On the web:
• Information for voters - the who, when and where
• 2014 Party lists

Parties:

1. ACT New Zealand
2. Aotearoa Legalise Cannabis Party
3. Ban1080
4. Conservative
5. Democrats for Social Credit
6. Focus New Zealand
7. Green Party
8. Internet MANA
9. Labour Party
10. Maori Party
11. National Party
12. New Zealand First Party
13. NZ Independent Coalition
14. The Civilian Party
15. United Future