Electoral Act 1993

Elections - Death or incapacity of candidate

151A: Interpretation

You could also call this:

"What it means for a candidate to be too sick or hurt to be in Parliament"

When you are looking at sections 152A to 153H, a candidate is considered incapacitated if the Electoral Commission thinks the candidate is too sick or hurt to withdraw their nomination. You need to consider if the candidate can take the Oath of Allegiance as a member of Parliament on the 61st day after writ day. The Electoral Commission makes this decision based on the candidate's illness or injury.

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM309648.

This page was last updated on 14 January 2026 — View changes

Topics:

Government and voting > ElectionsHealth and wellbeing > Public health

151: Name of political party for constituency candidates, or

"What name can a political party use on a ballot paper?"

152: Death before close of nominations, or

"What happens if a candidate dies before election nominations close"

Part 6Elections
Death or incapacity of candidate

151AInterpretation

For the purposes of sections 152A to 153H, a candidate is incapacitated if the Electoral Commission is satisfied that, because the candidate is suffering from a serious illness or has sustained a serious injury,—
if section 152A applies, the candidate is unable to personally withdraw his or her nomination; and
in any case, the candidate, if elected, would be unlikely to be capable of taking the Oath of Allegiance as a member of Parliament on the 61st day after writ day.

Notes

Section 151A: inserted, on 28 February 2002, by section 61 of the Electoral Amendment Act 2002 (2002 No 1).
Section 151A: amended, on 20 December 2025, by section 94 of the Electoral Amendment Act 2025 (2025 No 82).
Section 151A: amended, on 1 October 2010, by section 32(1)(a) of the Electoral (Administration) Amendment Act 2010 (2010 No 26).
Section 151A(b): amended, on 11 March 2020, by section 12 of the Electoral Amendment Act 2020 (2020 No 2).