NZ Election 2026

Palmerston North electorate

Palmerston North covers urban Palmerston North and a few outlying settlements such as Bunnythorpe, Turitea and Longburn. The seat is held by Labour’s Tangi Utikere, who was first elected in 2020 and was reelected in 2023 with a margin of 43%. National won the party vote with 34%, followed by Labour on 31%. The electorate boasts the highest percentage of New Zealand sign language speakers in the country out of any electorate.

Palmerston North candidates

Explore the candidates in your area

Tangi Utikere

Labour Party

Bruce McGechan

ACT Party

Netra Ghimire

Opportunity Party

Teanau Tuiono

Green Party

Brian Baker

Animal Justice Party

Ankit Bansal

National Party

Helma Vermuelen

NZ First

Teanau Tuiono

Green Party

Why I'm standing

It is a privilege to do this job and one I don't take lightly. Being able to advocate for the communities that I know and love is something I'm deeply passionate about. Ensuring we can all have affordable lives, and a healthy thriving nature. We need a politics that is for all of us.

About me

It is a privilege to do this job and one I don't take lightly. Being able to advocate for the communities that I know and love is something I'm deeply passionate about. Upholding Te Tiriti o Waitangi is important to me which involved working with tangata whenua and tangata tiriti to build an Aotearoa we can all be proud of. Kia kaha.

My priorities

  1. Affordable Lives, by taxing the rich, lowering power, grocery, transport and other bills.
  2. Healthy Nature. Ensuring we can drink, swim, and fish in our oceans and rivers.
  3. Decisions in our hands. Making sure our voices are central to our democracy and not the corporations.

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.