Positions

Waimakariri District Council has two decision-making parts: the Council and Community Boards.

Elections are held for the following positions every three years:

• Mayor (1)
• Councillor (10)
• Community Board members (24)

Council

The Council is made up of the mayor and 10 councillors. It makes decisions important for Waimakariri as a whole.
All Waimakariri voters elect the mayor, while councillors are elected by voters from the ward they represent.

Waimakariri has three wards:

• Rangiora-Ashley
• Kaiapoi-Woodend
• Oxford-Ohoka.

You can view the ward maps online.

Community Boards

Waimakariri's four community boards represent their individual areas.  Each community board has between five and eight members, elected by voters from the areas they represent. Councillors are also members of the Community Board covering their ward.
Community boards make decisions on local issues, activities and facilities, and help build strong communities.

The Community Boards are:

• Oxford-Ohoka
• Rangiora-Ashley
• Kaiapoi-Tuahiwi
• Woodend-Sefton

You can view the community board maps online.

Rangiora-Ashley Community Board representing the Rangiora and Ashley subdivisions. This board has eight elected board members and four elected Councillors. Five Board members will come from the Rangiora subdivision and three Board members will come from the Ashley subdivision. Once elected to the Board all members will represent the Rangiora-Ashley Ward.

Oxford-Ohoka Community Board representing the Oxford and Ohoka-Swannanoa subdivisions. This Board has six elected Board members and two elected Councillors. Three Board members will come from the Oxford subdivision and three Board members will come from the Ohoka-Swannanoa subdivision. Once elected to the Board all members will represent the Oxford-Ohoka Ward.

Kaiapoi-Tuahiwi Community Board representing the southern area of the Kaiapoi-Woodened Ward. This board has five elected Board members and two elected Councillors. All five Board members will come from Kaiapoi-Tuahiwi Community and once elected all the Board will represent the Kaiapoi-Tuahiwi Community area.

Woodened-Sefton Community Board representing the northern area of the Kaiapoi-Woodend Ward. This Board has five elected Board members and two elected Councillors. All five Board members will come from the Woodened-Sefton Community and once elected all the Board will represent the Woodened-Sefton Community area.

District Health Board (DHB) Elections

You can also vote in the Canterbury District Health Board (DHB) election when you vote in the Local Government Council elections. Candidate information and voting papers for these elections will be mailed to you at the same time.

DHBs are the governing bodies responsible for overseeing the delivery of health and disability services in their districts.
For more information, visit the Canterbury District Health Board website.

Environment Canterbury (ECan) Elections

As above, you can also vote in the Environment Canterbury (ECan) elections. A total of seven councillors will be elected – four from Christchurch, three from rural districts (1 from the North Canterbury area). For more information, visit Ecan's website.

Who Can Vote

Anyone 18 years or older who is a New Zealand citizen or permanent resident and has lived in New Zealand for more than one year continuously at some time in their life.

How to Enrol

If you love Waimakariri and want to vote on the future of the Waimakariri District, enrol to vote so you can have a say on the people who make decisions on what happens in your community.

If you’re not enrolled to vote, visit the Electoral Commission, call 0800 36 76 56, or free text your name and address to 3076.

Residential Roll

If you are registered to vote in parliamentary elections, you will be automatically enrolled on the local body electoral roll at the address where you live.

Ratepayer Roll

If you are on the electoral role in one area and pay rates on another property in another area, you may be eligible for enrolment on the non-residential ratepayer roll. This qualifies you to vote more than once in the local elections. A business, company, corporation or society paying rates on a property may nominate one of its members or officers as a ratepayer elector (providing the nominated person is on the parliamentary roll outside of the city, ward or community the property is in). Follow the Ratepayer Enrolment Flowchart for more information.

Where multiple people are shown as ratepayers of a property, if all those ratepayers are on the electoral roll outside of the city ward, or community the property is located in, those ratepayers can nominate one of them as a ratepayer elector for the property.

Special Voting

There are many reasons you would cast a special vote, including:

• Your name does not appear on the final electoral roll, but you qualify as an elector
• You have chosen to put your name on the unpublished (confidential) roll
• You have moved since the electoral roll was compiled (and have lived at your new residential address for one month or more)
• You spoilt, lost or did not receive your ordinary voting document
• You will be away from your residential address during the voting period
• You are eligible to vote for some positions in the electorate as a ratepayer elector (for a property you own but do not live in)

You will need to sign a statutory declaration when you cast a special vote. This is a legal requirement to protect voters against possible duplicate voting. The statutory declaration will be provided to the person casting the special vote, along with a special voting paper and candidate profile booklet.

Who Can Stand for Election

Anyone 18 years or older who is a New Zealand citizen (proof will be required) and is enrolled on the parliamentary roll.