Photo: 123RF
Polls have closed in the Tāmaki Makaurau by-election, with the frontrunners saying they are "excited" and "tau" (settled).
With 84 percent of the votes counted, Te Pāti Māori's Oriini Kaipara had 5286, almost twice as many as Labour's Peeni Henare (2721).
Five candidates are contesting the seat made vacant by the shock passing of Te Pāti Māori MP Takutai Tarsh Kemp in June.
Henare and Kaipara are considered the frontrunners. Henare pitched his track-record and experience to gain support, while Kaipara pitched her lived experience - and indicated her lack of parliamentary experience wasn't a weakness.
Both parties have raised concerns over low voter turnout and have tried to directly engage with whānau on the ground, they say.
On Thursday, just under 5000 ordinary votes had been cast. Nearly 44,000 people were enrolled in the electorate.
A University of Auckland student told RNZ the low numbers were "eye-opening".
The Tāmaki Makaurau electorate stretches from the Waitākere Ranges to Bucklands Beach, and includes most of Auckland's southern and eastern suburbs, as well as Waiheke Island.
Of the Māori electorates, it has the highest average annual household income - at nearly $130,000 - but also the highest number of people on the jobseeker benefit.
Peeni Henare cast his vote at Pasadena Intermediate. Speaking to media afterward, he said it had been a "long journey to this day", but he was "excited".
He said the campaign had been hugely energising and he was really proud of those who had volunteered.
"We hope for the best tonight."
He mentioned the rain on Saturday morning and was concerned this might dissuade people from voting, but said a team was out and about, driving people to vote, if that kind of support was needed.
Peeni Henare voting. Photo: RNZ / Lillian Hanly
Wearing gumboots out to vote, Henare a lot of work needed to be done before the evening.
"We've got cooking, food prep, marae setting up and all that sort of stuff today."
Labour gathered in Pt Chevalier to share a meal with those who volunteered on the campaign and watch the results roll in.
"We'll have a screen set up to watch the poll results and another screen set up to watch the All Blacks," he said with a wink. He picked 22-16 to the All Blacks.
"We've gone all out on this one," said Henare, about the by-election campaign.
"I said at the start of it that this is a journey for me from the loss in 2023 to say, 'You know what, I've still got it in me and I still want this, and I still want to represent Tamaki Makaurau', so to do that, I had to give it everything."
Henare wouldn't confirm if he would contest the Tāmaki Makaurau seat next year, saying the focus for now was the by-election.
"We've exhausted ourselves on this, so tomorrow, we'll catch our breath and go from there."
Oriini Kaipara had cast her vote more than a week ago, alongside Tā Pita Sharples. She said then it was "surreal" - and also surreal that she'd put herself forward for the role.
"I'm quite used to it now and with that comes not the weight of responsibility, but a very strong awareness of what I'm walking into," she told RNZ last Thursday.
Te Pāti Māori's Pita Sharples and Oriini Kaipara. Photo: RNZ
Today, she told RNZ she felt "tau" (settled).
"I have always prepared for the worst, while expecting the best, and I am proud of how we have run our campaign. From the beginning to the end, we have stood firmly in our values and our tikanga."
She said "being Māori" was the "sweetest victory of all".
"I have hope in our people that, despite the negative rhetoric, we are on the right trajectory."
Kaipara said she was inspired by the Māori queen, saying: "I carry her motivation and strength with me, irrespective of the outcome".
During the final day of campaigning, both Henare and Kaipara were at Koroneihana to witness Te Arikinui Kuini Nga wai hono i te po's first speech.
In her first royal address since becoming head of the Kiingitanga movement, Te Arikinui Kuini Nga wai hono i te po told listeners that being Māori was not defined by having an enemy or a challenge to overcome.
The Te Pāti Māori co-leaders have been fronting media on behalf of Oriini Kaipara, as the campaign wrapped up, and Te Pāti Māori co-leader Debbie Ngarewa-Packer told RNZ yesterday the Māori queen rose to the occasion and hit all the right points.
"She hit our heart, she hit our puku, she reached in and knew what we needed to hear. She was aspirational."
Ngarewa-Packer said the queen elaborated on what being Māori everyday looked like, "what thinking Māori is like and acting Māori".
"I was hugely uplifted."
Henare told RNZ the speech was "insightful" and he enjoyed that it brought a new vision, "one of a youthful person" that said Māori should "live mana motuhake" and that the economy was a great way to do that.
"She's spoken to a number of the things that I've raised in this campaign, about how we've got to free ourselves of those challenges, so that we can have our mana motuhake."
The first results are expected to be entered about 7.30pm, with the Electoral Commission aiming to have results from 95 percent of voting places by 10.30pm. It acknowledged Tāmaki Makaurau was a large electorate with many voting places, which meant results could take longer.
