Rotorua Lakes Councillor Don Paterson. Photo / Laura Smith
A Rotorua mayoral hopeful is concerned the integrity of October’s local election is at risk after the late withdrawal of a fellow candidate.
Haehaetu Barrett confirmed she was pulling out of the race for mayor due to a “sudden health complication” days before voting opened this week.
But the former Lifewise chief executive has not officially withdrawn.
A mayoral candidate cannot officially withdraw after nominations close unless they die, were invalidly nominated, or are declared incapacitated, including medically. She will therefore remain on the ballot.
A candidate’s nomination can only be cancelled on medical grounds if applied for by their two respective nominators. This would trigger an investigation and, if accepted, the mayoral election would be voided.
Council ward and board elections would proceed unaffected.
Don Paterson is running for mayor, as are Tania Tapsell, Robert Lee and Takeina Fraser.
Paterson sympathised with Barrett’s “truly awful situation” and understood the council and electoral office could not say she had withdrawn as “legally” she hadn’t.
But he worried about her presence on the ballot and the lack of information in the public domain about the fact she had dropped out – beyond media reporting and her own social media.
“The result Rotorua ends up with might not be a true reflection of what the community actually wants,” he said.
“If the message doesn’t get through and people still vote for her because they were unaware she was unable to carry on due to a medical condition, it could result in a backlash once those people realise they didn’t have all the facts.”
He worried who might be blamed, with the “worst-case scenario” being costly legal challenges, “even if the result isn’t overturned”.
Otago University law professor Andrew Geddis is an expert in election law.
He said a legal challenge could, in theory, be filed with a district judge after the election to “review the election processes” for an irregularity that could “void the result”.
However, he explained that would be difficult to prove.
“There is nothing to say the nomination of an incapacitated candidate must be withdrawn,” said Geddis.
“If this doesn’t happen, the election must continue with all candidates’ names on the ballot.”
Even if Barrett received enough votes to potentially sway the result, the election would be run “as the rules require”.
“It would be hard for a judge to find an irregularity in the process.”
Barrett confirmed she would not be pursuing an official withdrawal when approached by Local Democracy Reporting.
In a statement, Barrett thanked everyone who had offered support.
She was disappointed not to be able to participate “this time around” but said the setback was temporary and she would “return once 100% in a community capacity”.
She encouraged people to get out and vote to impact important issues, and particularly to keep Māori wards.
Rotorua Lakes Council’s electoral officer Warwick Lampp said he could not comment on the mayoral race issue but reiterated a stance to “respect Haehaetu’s privacy”.
Voting for Rotorua’s local elections closes at noon on October 11.
Mathew Nash is a Local Democracy Reporting journalist based at the Rotorua Daily Post. He has previously written for SunLive, been a regular contributor to RNZ and was a football reporter in the UK for eight years.
- LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.