Husband-and-wife team to contest election

Christine Rankin and Kim MacIntyre are standing for the Conservative Party. Picture / Doug Sherring

The husband-and-wife team of Kim MacIntyre and Christine Rankin are standing to enter Parliament for the Conservative Party this election.

The Electoral Commission yesterday published the official nominations for the election, including 15 registered political parties and 554 candidates to contest the 64 general seats and seven Maori seats.

Among the candidates are Mr MacIntyre, standing in Whanganui, and Ms Rankin, who is hoping to win the key seat of Epsom.

Mr MacIntyre is not on the party list, and can only enter Parliament if he wins the Whanganui seat, which National MP Chester Borrows won in 2011 with a 5046 majority.

Ms Rankin said last night that the party was not kidding itself and did not expect Mr MacIntyre to win.

"We don't have any illusions about that. But we didn't want to leave the seat vacant. We haven't got a party organisation there and didn't have a local candidate. Kim standing there gives the people a name and the party some visibility."

New Zealand First leader Winston Peters has also been confirmed as not standing in an electorate.

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

Thirty-eight candidates are standing independently or for unregistered parties.

Epsom and Tauranga have the most candidates with 11 each.

Only three candidates will contest Hauraki-Waikato.

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

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