Whanganui will keep the Māori ward for at least 2028 and 2031.
There were 8292 votes in favour and 7462 against in the referendum that ran concurrently with this year’s election.
For the 2025-28 triennium, the ward’s two seats will be filled by Julie Herewini (1122 votes) and Geoff Hipango (922).
In a statement, council democracy services manager Anna Palamountain said reaching 50% was “no small feat” at a time when turnout for local government elections was trending down across most of the country.
She said for districts with 30,000 electors or more, Whanganui could finish with the highest voter turnout in the country.
“We’re still waiting on some results to be declared by a handful of councils, but at this stage we are tracking to be right up there with the highest turnouts for larger districts,” she said.
“As a town, we have a strong history of civic pride and community engagement – and I think we saw that again this election."
Final voter turnout for the Rangitīkei District Council election was 49.63%, with Ruapehu District Council at 51.07%.
In 2022, Whanganui voter turnout was 46.44%, with 37.17% in 2019, and 53.95% in 2016.
Palamountain said council staff worked late and or over weekends to help people vote, community organisations held ‘meet the candidates’ nights or pop-up voting events, and businesses hosted orange voting bins.
“Most importantly, I want to acknowledge the efforts of those in our community who not only got out and voted, but also encouraged their friends and whānau to.
“Local democracy works best when everyone is represented, so we salute you for your efforts.”
Elected members for the district council and Whanganui Rural Community Board will be sworn in at Putiki Marae on October 30.
Mike Tweed is a multimedia journalist at the Whanganui Chronicle. Since starting in March 2020, he has dabbled in everything from sport to music. At present his focus is local government, primarily the Whanganui District Council.
