Botany Election set for March 5

Wellington December 14 Following the resignation of Pansy Wong from Parliament, a by-election will be held in the Botany Electorate on March 5, 2011.

Prime Minister John Key paid tributes to Ms Wong saying her commitment to Botany and ethnic communities all over New Zealand could not be questioned.

Ms Wong entered Parliament as a list MP in 1996 and won the seat of Botany in the 2008 general election.

“The by-election Writ day will be on February 1. The last day for candidate nominations to be received will be 8 February and the last day for the return of the Writ will be March 23,” Mr Key said.

The Electoral Commission is preparing to make it easy for voters to take part in the by-election

“The announcement of a by-election on 5 March triggers a chain of activity within the Electoral Commission to ensure a well run by-election in Botany,” Chief Electoral Officer Robert Peden said.

“Only people enrolled in the Botany electorate are able to vote in the by-election and they have only one vote - for their electorate MP.  There is no Party Vote,” Mr Peden said..

The Electoral Commission expects to provide a similar number and location of polling places for the Botany by-election as was provided in the electorate on election day in 2008.

Voters unable to vote at a polling place in the Botany electorate on election day will be able to vote at an advance voting place before election day.  Polling places will only be available inside the electorate on election day.

Advance voting and voting from overseas will start on February 16, 2011.

Information about where to vote will be available from www.elections.org.nz from  February 8, 2011.

“All Botany voters correctly enrolled in time will get an EasyVote card to take when they vote to make voting easier,” Mr Peden said.

”The EasyVote card is an important feature of the Botany by-election, and people are urged to enrol to vote as quickly as possible so they can receive their EasyVote card.”

Enrolment forms are available from the elections website www.elections.org.nz, by free texting your name and address to 3676, from any PostShop or by calling 0800 ENROL OW (0800 36 76 56).  People can check their details and enrol online at the website.

A timeline for the Botany by-election is set out below. A media kit for the Botany electorate will be available from www.elections.org.nz/study/news/botany-by-election-media-kit

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