NZ Election 2026

Christchurch East electorate

Christchurch East covers many of Christchurch's eastern suburbs, including Avondale, New Brighton, and Waimari Beach. The electorate has been held by Labour’s Reuben Davidson, who was first elected in 2023 with a margin of 13,418 votes. Labour also won the party vote in 2023 with 34%, followed by National on 29%. The last party other than Labour to win the seat was the now-defunct Liberal party in 1922.

Christchurch East candidates

Explore the candidates in your area

Reuben Davidson

Labour Party

Ethan Gullery

Alliance Party

Toni Severin

ACT Party

Shane Wiremu

NZ First

David Mueller-Cajar

NZ Outdoors & Freedom Party

Teresa Butler

Green Party

Helen Houghton

Conservative Party NZ

Alexandra Davids

National Party

Vikramjit SINGH

Independent

Paula Lambert

Aotearoa Legalise Cannabis Party

Glenn THOMPSON

New Zealand Loyal

David Mueller-Cajar

NZ Outdoors & Freedom Party

Why I'm standing

I am running because democracy should belong to people daily, not just election day. Parliament operates on powers without duties, passing laws with no enforceable accountability. My motivation is not imposing my vision for Christchurch East or New Zealand, but representing yours through Binding Citizens' Initiated Referenda (0.9% threshold) and a Citizens' Accountability Chamber. These tools give you direct power to make law when Parliament fails, ensuring bottom-up accountability over top-down promises.

About me

I make a good representative because I bind myself to verifiable mechanisms, making my personal traits irrelevant. My commitment is not to impose my vision for Christchurch East, but to install Binding Citizens' Initiated Referenda and a Citizens' Accountability Chamber via Standing Orders. These tools ensure accountability is procedural, giving residents direct power to hold me to account. My role is purely to transmit your mandate through established parliamentary channels.

My priorities

  1. Create system allowing the collecting of constituent voting and advocacy instructions.
  2. Introduce Private Member's Bill for Binding Referenda using Standing Orders
  3. Audit top local issues demanding official data so that constituents may make informed decisions.

Get across the policies, candidates and parties

Don’t know who to vote for? Policy.nz is the complete guide to the 2026 general election. Compare the parties, candidates and policies to see where you stand.

Policies

Compare the parties’ positions on the key issues this election

Candidates

See the electorate candidates running in your local area

Parties

Learn about each political party, its leaders and candidate list

Things to know...

Your two votes shape New Zealand’s next parliament. You need to be enrolled to vote.

Read explainer

  • Enrol to vote by Sunday 25 October

    You need to be enrolled before you can vote. You can enrol online at vote.nz.

  • Voting day is Saturday 7 November

    Head to your nearest voting place on the day, or vote early from 26 October.

  • You get two votes

    One for a party (the party vote) and one for a person in your area (the electorate vote).

  • Your party vote is the most powerful

    It decides how many seats each party gets in Parliament. That’s what Policy helps you figure out.