Labour's Meka Whaitiri will become the country's newest MP after winning the Ikaroa-Rawhiti by-election.
Whaitiri won by 1761 votes and was in the lead since the vote tallying began at 7pm.
Mana's Te Hamua Nikora came in second with 2607 votes followed by the Maori Party's candidate Na Rongowhakaata Raihania then the Green Party's Marama Davidson.
A total of 10,519 votes were cast in a by-election where voter turnout was expected to be low.
There are nearly 34,000
people on the Maori roll in the electorate which stretches the length of
the east coast from north of Gisborne to Wainuiomata.
Until
now, the seat has only ever been held by Labour's Parekura Horomia
since its inception in 1999 until his death earlier this year.
Final tally for Ikaroa-Rawhiti:
- Meka Whaitiri – Labour Party 4368 votes
- Te Hamua Nikora – Mana 2607 votes
- Na Rongowhakaata Raihania – Maori Party 2104 votes
- Marama Davidson – Green Party 1188 votes
- Michael Appleby – Aotearoa Legalise Cannabis Party 161 votes
- Maurice Wairau – Independent 27 votes
- Adam Holland – Independent 13 votes
3 News Sat, 29 Jun 2013 9:05p.m.
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