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Electoral Act 1993

The House of Representatives - Qualifications of candidates and members

49: Candidate not disqualified if name removed from roll without cause

You could also call this:

"You can still be a candidate if your name was removed from the electoral roll by mistake."

Illustration for Electoral Act 1993

You can still be a candidate for Parliament if your name was removed from the electoral roll without it being your fault. You are not disqualified from being a candidate just because your name is not on the electoral roll. If you want to be a candidate, you must make a statutory declaration saying you are qualified to be an elector and your name was removed from the roll without it being your fault. You must send this declaration to the Electoral Commission or the party secretary when you give your consent to being nominated. This depends on how you were nominated as a candidate, which could be under section 143 or section 146D. You need to follow the rules to make sure your nomination is valid. If you are qualified to be an elector and your name was removed from the roll without it being your fault, you can still be a candidate. You just need to follow the right steps and make the statutory declaration. This will help you become a candidate for Parliament.

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM308521.

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Government and voting > Elections
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Part 3The House of Representatives
Qualifications of candidates and members

49Candidate not disqualified if name removed from roll without cause

  1. This section applies to a person—

  2. who is qualified to be registered as an elector of an electoral district; and
    1. whose name was entered on the electoral roll for that district; but
      1. whose name has been subsequently removed from that electoral roll through no fault or failure of that person.

        1. A person is not, by reason only of his or her name having been removed from an electoral roll, disqualified from becoming a candidate and being elected as a member of Parliament.

        2. However, a person who consents to his or her nomination as a candidate must make a statutory declaration declaring that—

        3. he or she is qualified to be registered as an elector of the electoral district in respect of which he or she was previously registered; and
          1. his or her name was removed from the electoral roll for that district through no fault or failure of his or her own.

            1. A person nominated as a candidate must, when giving his or her consent to the nomination, send the statutory declaration to—

            2. the Electoral Commission, if the person was nominated as a constituency candidate by registered electors under section 143; or
              1. the party secretary, if the person is to be nominated as—
                1. a constituency candidate by the party secretary under section 146D; or
                  1. a list candidate.

                  Notes
                  • Section 49: substituted, on , by section 14 of the Electoral (Administration) Amendment Act 2010 (2010 No 26).
                  • Section 49(4)(a): amended, on , by section 82 of the Electoral Amendment Act 2025 (2025 No 82).