Outgoing Kaipara Mayor Craig Jepson Photo: NZME
Outgoing Kaipara Mayor Craig Jepson has called an emergency meeting just 24 hours before the final result of the cliff-hanger election is due to be announced.
The notice states the purpose of the meeting scheduled for tonight is to "approve a complaint and request for an investigation into the conduct of the 2025 Kaipara District Council local government election and 2025 Northland Regional Council Māori constituency referendum".
The intent is also to "authorise the mayor on behalf of the council to lodge the complaint and request for an investigation with the relevant authorities".
The nature of the complaint is not yet clear.
With special votes yet to be added, current deputy mayor Jonathan Larsen - who Jepson has endorsed as his successor - is just five votes ahead of his closest rival, iwi leader Snow Tane, and 31 votes ahead of a two-times former mayor Jason Smith.
The mayor has requested the meeting be held behind closed doors in Mangawhai, but that has yet to be confirmed.
The meeting is being called under a rarely used section of the Local Government Act that allows the mayor to call an emergency meeting without the usual three-day notice period required for an extraordinary meeting.
The current standings in the mayoral race, according to the preliminary count, are Larsen, 3170 votes; Tane, 3065; Smith 3039; and Ash Nayyar 1256.
In the Northland Regional Council Māori constituency referendum, the results so far are 30,967 to remove the two Māori seats and 29,589 to retain them.
The notice was sent on Wednesday afternoon to chief executive Jason Marris and all current councillors.
The Kaipara District Council has said the final election result, including special votes, will be released on Friday evening.
