It may have taken until the 11th hour, but a last-minute swell of nominations means local government elections will be well contested across the city.
Local body elections take place on October 11.
Sixteen nominees for the mayoralty and 54 nominees for 14 councillor vacancies will mean a robust election process at the Dunedin City Council.
Nominations for vacancies on each of the six community boards also saw a last-minute surge.
For the six vacancies on each community board, Waikouaiti Coast, Saddle Hill and Otago Peninsula drew 11 nominees; Mosgiel-Taieri and Strath Taieri had nine; West Harbour had eight.
In a statement, Dunedin City Council chief executive Sandy Graham said she was delighted to see such a high level of community engagement and participation in the democratic process.
"Our role is to encourage candidacy, so it’s wonderful to have so many people stepping up and standing for election across Ōtepoti Dunedin."
Long-serving Dunedin City councillor David Benson-Pope and some community board members are not standing in this election.
Their service and contributions to the community will be acknowledged at a council meeting on October 7.
Now that August 1 has passed, those yet to enrol or update addresses will not get voting papers sent in the mail, instead people will need to contact the council’s electoral officer, for information visit votelocal.co.nz.
The last day to enrol to vote in local elections is Friday, October 10. — Allied Media
