Results of the 2025 New Zealand territorial authority elections in Manawatū-Whanganui

2025 New Zealand territorial authority elections
(Manawatū-Whanganui)

← 2022 11 October 2025 2028 →

For broader coverage of this topic, see Results of the 2025 New Zealand territorial authority elections.

Elections for the territorial authorities of New Zealand will be held from 9 September until 11 October 2025 as part of that year's nation-wide local elections. 709 local councillors and 66 mayors will be elected across 66 of 67 councils.

7 territorial authorities are located within the Manawatū-Whanganui Region. 7 mayors and 79 district and city councillors will be elected.

Ruapehu District Council

2025 Ruapehu District Council election

← 2022 11 October 2025 2028 →
Turnout	4,302 (51.98%)
Mayoral election
Candidate Weston Kirton Grant Lethborg Affiliation Independent Independent Primary vote 1,972 950 Percentage 45.84 22.08 Final vote 2,453 1,347 Percentage 57.02 31.31
Mayor before election Weston Kirton Independent Elected mayor Weston Kirton Independent
Council election
9 seats on the Stratford District Council 5 seats needed for a majority
Party Seats +/– Independents 9 0 This lists parties that won seats. See the complete results below.

2025 Ruapehu mayoral election

2025 Ruapehu mayoral election ^[1]

Affiliation		Candidate	Primary vote	%	Final vote	%
	Independent	Weston Kirton	1,972	45.84	2,453	57.02
	Independent	Grant Lethborg	950	22.08	1,347	31.31
	Independent	Lyn Neeson	938	21.80
	Independent	Fiona Hadley-Chase	385	8.95
Informal			9	0.21
Blank			48	1.12
Turnout			4,302	51.98
Registered			8,277
	Indepenedent hold

Ruapehu general ward

Ruapehu general ward ^[1]

Affiliation		Candidate	Primary vote	%	Final vote [a]	%
	Independent	Luke Pepper	817	23.70	443	12.85
	Independent	Rabbit Nottage	482	13.98	446	12.94
	Independent	Robyn Gram	443	12.85	444	12.88
	Independent	Viv Hoeta	351	10.18	446	12.94
	Independent	John Chapman	247	7.17	446	12.94
	Independent	Brenda Ralph	167	4.84	440	12.76
	Independent	Peter Zimmer	147	4.76	368	10.68
	Independent	Rodger Baker	164	4.26
	Independent	Sophie Stockbridge	119	3.74
	Independent	Gary Griffin-Chappel	129	3.45
	Independent	Elise Adams	116	3.37
	Independent	Nicoleen Wessels	73	2.12
	Independent	Rhonda Kingston	40	1.16
	Independent	Elaine Reed	19	0.55
Informal			40	1.16
Blank			93	2.7
Turnout			3,447
Registered
	Independent gain from Independent
	Independent hold
	Independent hold
	Independent hold
	Independent gain from Independent
	Independent hold

Ruapehu Māori ward

Ruapehu Māori ward ^[1]

Affiliation		Candidate	Primary vote	%	Final vote [a]	%
	Independent	Kuru Ketu	263	30.76	231	27.02
	Independent	Channey Iwikau	143	16.73	205	23.98
	Independent	Korty Wilson	161	18.83	203	23.74
	Independent	Fiona Hadley-Chase	122	14.27	158	18.48
	Independent	Simon Hepi	96	11.23
	Independent	Marilyn Davis	42	4.91
Informal			12	1.40
Blank			16	1.87
Turnout			855
Registered
	Independent gain from Independent
	Independent hold
	Independent hold

Whanganui District Council

Main article: 2025 Whanganui District Council election

2025 Whanganui District Council election

←  2022 11 October 2025 2028 →
Turnout	17,024 (50.10%)
Mayoral election
Candidate Andrew Tripe Josh Chandulal-Mackay Peter Oskam Affiliation Independent Independent Independent Popular vote 9,147 5,286 1,895 Percentage 53.73 31.05 11.13
Mayor before election Andrew Tripe Independent Elected mayor Andrew Tripe Independent
Council election
12 seats on the Whanganui District Council 7 seats needed for a majority
Party Seats +/– Independents 12 0 This lists parties that won seats. See the complete results below.

2025 Whanganui mayoral election

2025 Whanganui mayoral election ^[2]

Affiliation		Candidate	Votes	%
	Independent	Andrew Tripe	9,147	53.73
	Independent	Josh Chandulal-Mackay	5,286	31.05
	Independent	Peter Oskam	1,895	11.13
	Independent	Gregory McPhee	295	1.73
Informal			24	0.14
Blank			377	2.21
Turnout			17,024	50.10
Registered			33,978
	Independent hold

Whanganui general ward

Whanganui general ward ^[2]

Affiliation		Candidate	Votes	%
	Independent	Michael Law	8,990
	Independent	Josh Chandulal-Mackay	8,712
	Independent	Kate Joblin	8,617
	Independent	Rob Vinsen	8,226
	Independent	Charlotte Melser	7,773
	Independent	Glenda Brown	7,134
	Independent	Philippa Baker-Hogan	6,836
	Independent	Mike Hos	6,802
	Independent	Peter Oskam	6,032
	Independent	Ross Fallen	5,868
	Independent	Rob Oscroft	5,304
	Independent	Jay Rerekura	5,168
	Independent	Tracey Jarman	3,896
	Independent	Jason Bardell	3,853
	Independent	Scott Phillips	3,767
	Independent	Tony Sundman	3,227
	Independent Green	Awhi Haenga	3,053
	Independent	Azian Z	2,662
	Independent	Julian Emmett	2,272
	Independent	Michael Organ	1,915
	Independent	Robin Westley	1,828
	Animal Justice	Sandra Kyle	1,823
	Independent	Gregory McPhee	1,460
Informal			46
Blank			107
Turnout
Registered
	Independent hold
	Independent hold
	Independent hold
	Independent hold
	Independent gain from Independent
	Independent hold
	Independent hold
	Independent gain from Independent
	Independent hold
	Independent hold

Whanganui Māori ward

Whanganui Māori ward ^[2]

Affiliation		Candidate	Votes	%
	Independent	Julie Herewini	1,122
	Independent	Geoff Hipango	922
	Independent	Kiritahi Firmin	638
	Independent	Hayden Potaka	558
	Independent	Phil Reweti	403
Informal			0
Blank			21
Turnout
Registered
	Independent gain from Independent
	Independent gain from Independent

Rangitīkei District Council

2025 Rangitīkei District Council election

← 2022 11 October 2025 2028 →

Mayoral election

Mayor before election Andy Watson Independent Elected mayor TBD

Council election

11 seats on the Rangitīkei District Council 6 seats needed for a majority

Party Seats +/– Independents 1 to be determined 10 This lists parties that won seats. See the complete results below.

2025 Rangitīkei mayoral election

2025 Rangitīkei mayoral election ^[3]

Affiliation		Candidate	Vote	%
		to be determined
Informal
Blank
Total
Registered
	Independent incumbent

Northern general ward

Northern general ward ^[3]

Affiliation		Candidate	Vote	%
		to be determined
		to be determined
Informal
Blank
Total
Registered
	Independent incumbent
	Independent incumbent

Central general ward

Northern general ward ^[3]

Affiliation		Candidate	Vote	%
		to be determined
		to be determined
		to be determined
		to be determined
		to be determined
Informal
Blank
Total
Registered
	Independent incumbent
	Independent incumbent
	Independent incumbent
	Independent incumbent
	Independent incumbent

Southern general ward

Southern general ward ^[3]

Affiliation		Candidate	Vote	%
		to be determined
		to be determined
Informal
Blank
Total
Registered
	Independent incumbent
	Independent incumbent

Tiikeitia ki Uta (Inland) Māori ward

Tiikeitia ki Uta (Inland) Māori ward ^[3]

Affiliation		Candidate	Vote
	Independent	Tracey Hiroa	unopposed
Registered
	Independent hold

Tiikeitia ki Tai (Coastal) Māori ward

Tiikeitia ki Tai (Coastal) Māori ward ^[3]

Affiliation		Candidate	Vote	%
		to be determined
Informal
Blank
Total
Registered
	Independent incumbent

Manawatū District Council

2025 Manawatū District Council election

← 2022 11 October 2025 2028 →

Mayoral election

Candidate Michael Ford Affiliation Independent Popular vote unopposed

Mayor before election Helen Worboys Independent Elected mayor Michael Ford Independent

Council election

11 seats on the Manawatū District Council 6 seats needed for a majority

Party Seats +/– Independents 1 to be determined 10 This lists parties that won seats. See the complete results below.

2025 Manawatū mayoral election

2025 Manawatū mayoral election ^[4]

Affiliation		Candidate	Vote
	Independent	Michael Ford	unopposed
Registered
	Independent gain from Independent

Manawatū Rural general ward

Manawatū Rural general ward ^[4]

Affiliation		Candidate	Vote	%
		to be determined
		to be determined
		to be determined
		to be determined
		to be determined
Informal
Blank
Total
Registered
	Independent incumbent
	Independent incumbent
	Independent incumbent
	Independent incumbent
	Independent incumbent

Fielding general ward

Fielding general ward ^[4]

Affiliation		Candidate	Vote	%
		to be determined
		to be determined
		to be determined
		to be determined
		to be determined
Informal
Blank
Total
Registered
	Independent incumbent
	Independent incumbent
	Independent incumbent
	Independent incumbent
	Independent incumbent

Ngā Tapuae o Mātangi Māori ward

Ngā Tapuae o Mātangi Māori ward ^[4]

Affiliation		Candidate	Vote
	Independent	Bridget Bell	unopposed
Registered
	Independent gain from Te Pāti Māori [b]

Palmerston North City Council

Main article: 2025 Palmerston North City Council election

2025 Palmerston North City Council election

← 2022 11 October 2025 2028 →

Mayoral election

Mayor before election Grant Smith Independent Elected mayor TBD

Council election

15 seats on the Palmerston North City Council 8 seats needed for a majority

Party Seats +/– to be determined 15 This lists parties that won seats. See the complete results below.

2025 Palmerston North mayoral election

2025 Palmerston North mayoral election ^[5]

Affiliation		Candidate	Popular vote	%	Final vote [a]
		to be determined
Informal
Blank
Total
Registered
	Independent incumbent

Te Hirawanui general ward

Te Hirawanui general ward ^[5]

Affiliation		Candidate	Primary vote	%	Final vote [a]
		to be determined
		to be determined
		to be determined
		to be determined
		to be determined
		to be determined
		to be determined
		to be determined
		to be determined
		to be determined
		to be determined
		to be determined
		to be determined
Informal
Blank
Total
Registered
	Independent incumbent
	Independent incumbent
	Independent incumbent
	Green incumbent
	Independent incumbent
	Independent incumbent
	Independent incumbent
	Labour incumbent
	Independent incumbent
	Independent incumbent
	Independent incumbent
	Independent incumbent
	Green incumbent

Te Pūao Māori ward

Te Pūao Māori ward ^[5]

Affiliation		Candidate	Primary vote	%	Final vote [a]
		to be determined
		to be determined
Informal
Blank
Total
Registered
	Rangitāne o Manawatū incumbent
	Rangitāne o Manawatū incumbent

Tararua District Council

2025 Tararua District Council election

← 2022 11 October 2025 2028 →

Mayoral election

Mayor before election Tracey Collis Independent Elected mayor TBD

Council election

9 seats on the Tararua District Council 5 seats needed for a majority

Party Seats +/– to be determined 9 This lists parties that won seats. See the complete results below.

2025 Tararua mayoral election

2025 Tararua mayoral election ^[6]

Affiliation		Candidate	Vote	%
		to be determined
Informal
Blank
Total
Registered
	Independent incumbent

North Tararua general ward

North Tararua general ward ^[6]

Affiliation		Candidate	Vote	%
		to be determined
		to be determined
		to be determined
		to be determined
Informal
Blank
Total
Registered
	Independent incumbent
	Independent incumbent
	Independent incumbent
	Independent incumbent

South Tararua general ward

South Tararua general ward ^[6]

Affiliation		Candidate	Vote	%
		to be determined
		to be determined
		to be determined
		to be determined
Informal
Blank
Total
Registered
	Independent incumbent
	Independent incumbent
	Independent incumbent
	Independent incumbent

Tamaki nui-a-Rua Māori ward

Tamaki nui-a-Rua Māori ward ^[6]

Affiliation		Candidate	Vote	%
		to be determined
Informal
Blank
Total
Registered
	Independent incumbent

Horowhenua District Council

2025 Horowhenua District Council election

← 2022 11 October 2025 2028 →
Turnout	12,214 (46.93%)
Mayoral election
Candidate Bernie Wanden Justin Tamihana Affiliation Independent Independent Popular vote 9,017 2,889 Percentage 73.83 23.66
Mayor before election Bernie Wanden Independent Elected mayor Bernie Wanden Independent
Council election
12 seats on the Horowhenua District Council 7 seats needed for a majority
Party Seats +/– Independents 12 0 This lists parties that won seats. See the complete results below.

2025 Horowhenua mayoral election

2025 Horowhenua mayoral election ^[7]

Affiliation		Candidate	Votes	%
	Independent	Bernie Wanden	9,017	73.83
	Independent	Justin Tamihana	2,889	23.66
Informal			5	0.04
Blank			302	2.47
Turnout			12,213	46.93
Registered			26,025
	Independent hold

Kere Kere general ward

Kere Kere general ward ^[7]

Affiliation		Candidate	Votes	%
	Independent	David Allan	989
	Independent	Nola Fox	745
	Independent	Justin Tamihana	641
	Independent	Trevor James Chambers	585
	Independent	Brett Russell	474
Informal			0	0.00
Blank			41
Turnout
Registered
	Independent hold
	Independent gain from Independent

Miranui general ward

Miranui general ward ^[7]

Affiliation		Candidate	Votes	%
	Independent	Paul Olsen	568	64.69
	Independent	Susan Conway	299	34.05
Informal			0	0.00
Blank			11	1.25
Turnout			878
Registered
	Independent hold

Levin general ward

Levin general ward ^[7]

Affiliation		Candidate	Votes	%
	Independent	Jo Mason	2,997
	Independent	Clint Grimstone	2,574
	Independent	Alan Young	2,529
	Independent	Mike Barker	2,037
	Independent	Katrina Mitchell-Kouttab	1,902
	Independent	Catriona Finau McKay	1,645
	Independent	Tony Collis	1,640
	Independent	Keremihana Heke	946
	Independent	Viv Bold	928
	Independent	Avril Lang	828
	Independent	André Thompson	742
	Independent	Jane Masoe	609
	Independent	Glen Stevenson	484
	Independent	Don Campbell	360
Informal			9
Blank			70
Turnout
Registered
	Independent gain from Independent
	Independent hold
	Independent hold
	Independent hold
	Independent gain from Independent

Waiopehu general ward

Waiopehu general ward ^[7]

Affiliation		Candidate	Votes	%
	Independent	Sam Jennings	1,667
	Independent	Morgan Gray	1,142
	Independent	Judy Webby	1,134
	Independent	Dan Okano	944
	Independent	Bruce Eccles	905
	Independent	William Ranginui	210
Informal			2
Blank			76
Turnout
Registered
	Independent hold
	Independent gain from Independent

Horowhenua Māori ward

Horowhenua Māori ward ^[7]

Affiliation		Candidate	Votes	%
	Independent	Nina Hori Te Pa	735
	Independent	Lani Te Raukura Ketu	581
	Independent	Kelly Tahiwi	539
	Independent	Troy O'Carroll	351
Informal			2
Blank			28
Turnout
Registered
	Independent hold
	Independent gain from Independent

See also

• Results of the 2025 New Zealand regional council elections#Horizons Regional Council

Notes

1. Rounded to whole number
2. Incumbent changed affiliation.

References

1. Lampp, Warwick (16 October 2025). "Ruapehu District Council – 2025 Triennial Elections – Declaration of Result" (PDF). ElectioNZ.
2. Lampp, Warwick (16 October 2025). "Whanganui District Council – 2025 Triennial Elections – Declaration of Result" (PDF). ElectioNZ.
3. Placeholder reference – results to be confirmed following election.
4. Placeholder reference – results to be confirmed following election.
5. Placeholder reference – results to be confirmed following election.
6. Placeholder reference – results to be confirmed following election.
7. Lampp, Warwick (16 October 2025). "Horowhenua District Council – 2025 Triennial Elections – Declaration of Result" (PDF). ElectioNZ.