Dunedin's council hopefuls are slightly quicker off the mark this election, as the nomination period for local government elections ticks over halfway.
Dunedin City Council electoral officer Anthony Morton said nominations were tracking just ahead of 2022 — since nominations opened on July 4, 20 candidates had put their name forward, compared with 19 over the same period last election.
So far, two nominations had been received for the Otago Regional Council, he said.
"In 2022, the first nomination was not received until the third week."
Overall, the number of nominations received for the Otago and Southland councils was "slightly lower than expected, particularly for community board positions", Mr Morton said.
He encouraged all candidates to submit their nominations as early as possible so any processing problems could be addressed before the nomination deadline of noon on August 1.
