“Every person who voted, including my own tamariki and the rangatahi of our community, deserves to know their voice was heard, counted, and respected.
“This recount is about accountability and integrity, making sure our processes reflect the values we teach our tamariki: honesty, fairness, and courage to ask questions when something doesn’t feel right,” she wrote.
In a statement, the council said the court ruled that Te Huia “has an objective and credible basis for believing that the results were incorrect, so the application for a recount was granted”.
The recount will take place on Thursday.
The council is unable to schedule its inaugural meeting until final rulings on the recount. Then, it is required to give a seven-day notice period before the meeting.
“This is likely to be late November at the earliest”.
Porirua Mayor-elect Anita Baker said she is “pleased we will finally have some closure and can move on and get sworn in”.
The people of Porirua voted in last month’s election to retain the city’s Māori ward, 11,775 votes to 5,240. The ward was first established in 2021.
Ethan Manera is a Wellington-based journalist covering Wellington issues, local politics and business in the capital. He can be emailed at ethan.manera@nzme.co.nz.
