Mana Party leader Hone Harawira says it was a mistake that an advertisement that ran in a newspaper during the Te Tai Tokerau by-election did not have the required promoter statement.
The New Zealand Herald reported today that Mr Harawira could be fined up to $40,000 for an ad that ran in the Northern Advocate newspaper on June 24, the day before the by-election, which called on readers to "Vote 4 Hone" but did not include the legally required promoter statement.
Mr Harawira confirmed to the newspaper that it was his advertisement and said the lack of the promoter statement was a simple mistake.
Originally the statement was included but when wording was later changed it was omitted.
Electoral law requires a promoter statement to be included in ads along with the name of the person who authorised the ad and their address.
The Electoral Commission said it would look into the issue.
