Questions and Answers about the Election

Te Rūnanga has very few obligations with respect to the process itself.

• Te Rūnanga must have provisions in the Charter that set out how Papatipu Rūnanga appoint representatives to Te Rūnanga. In essence, the Papatipu Rūnanga are required to elect, from time to time, in a democratic manner by way of a postal ballot, those members who will appoint Representatives and Alternative Representatives. These Charter provisions have been in place since 1996 and were amended in September 2008.
• Te Rūnanga has an obligation under the Charter to notify the Papatipu Rūnanga and the chairperson of the appropriate Appointment Committee should it receive a resignation from a Representative or Alternate.

Te Rūnanga may also assist Papatipu Rūnanga to implement electoral processes if asked to do so. This includes appointing an electoral officer to assist with the conduct of any postal ballot and advising Papatipu Pūnanga on compliance matters and rules the Papatipu Rūnanga may wish to adopt. Te Rūnanga has also set aside budget to support the process. This assistance is provided through the Elections Project Manager and the Legal Services Unit.

Papatipu Rūnanga each have a number of obligations which are designed to make the process as open, transparent and democratic as possible. Some of the details of how the obligations are implemented will differ between Papatipu Rūnanga.

• Papatipu Rūnanga must undertake a process to appoint the Representative and Alternate Representative to Te Rūnanga.
  • This process involves electing an Appointment Committee (or an electoral college) who then make the appointment of the Representative and Alternate Representative.
  • Those persons must be members of Ngāi Tahu Whānui, over 18 years of age and have established their entitlement by descent to be a member of that Papatipu Rūnanga.
  • The elections for the Appointment Committee need to occur in a democratic manner by postal ballot of all eligible members of the Papatipu Rūnanga every three years unless the number of candidates for the positions on the Appointment Committee is less than the number of vacancies on that Appointment Committee that year.
• Papatipu Rūnanga must have in place rules that ensure postal ballots, if they are required, are conducted at intervals of no longer than every three years and that all adult members have reasonable opportunity to participate in the postal ballot. Papatipu Rūnanga may also have rules that set the criteria for the eligibility of members to be nominated to the Appointment Committee.
• Papatipu Rūnanga must also have in place rules that provide that the members of the Appointment Committee act in a timely manner and in accordance with any rules of the Papatipu Rūnanga to appoint the Rūnanga Representative and Alternate.
• Papatipu Rūnanga may also have rules that deal with the mechanics of how the process will run including, for example, how the nominations process will work, any criteria for appointment and the term of any appointment.
• Papatipu Rūnanga are also required to deposit with Te Rūnanga its Appointment Committee Election rules and any Rūnanga Representative Appointment rules. These rules must be available to members of the Papatipu Rūnanga upon request.

The Appointment Committee process is a requirement of the Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu Act. While some may say it is not democratic, it is in fact just a different form of democracy. It is the method used to elect the President of the United States of America and the governing body of Te Ohu Kai Moana.

Some Papatipu Rūnanga intend to use a form of "indirect" voting. The indirect vote or indicative vote can be by means of a postal ballot in which the Papatipu Rūnanga members indicate who they prefer to be the Representative or Alternate Representative or it could be by way of a vote taken at a hui called for that purpose.

In each case the Appointment Committee would be asked to have regard for the outcome of that vote. While the Appointment Committee would not be bound by the indicative vote, they would need to have a reason for not appointing the persons who had the majority support of the Papatipu Rūnanga. These matters would be provided for in the rules of the Papatipu Rūnanga.

It is up to the members of each Papatipu Rūnanga, usually via the executive of that Papatipu Rūnanga, to ensure that the rūnanga had the systems and processes in place to run an election and appointment process which is consistent with the Act and Charter of Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu. Most Papatipu Rūnanga have already held meetings to consider their existing rules and to discuss whether the rules need updating.

If a Papatipu Rūnanga does not follow a process which is consistent with the Act and the Charter then they may face challenges that their Representative or Alternate Representative are not validly appointed. If there is a successful challenge to the process a Papatipu Rūnanga would usually be required to address the issues raised and to run the process again.

There are two types of membership rolls which could be used for the elections process. In some instances the Papatipu Rūnanga have created and hold membership lists of those individuals who have "established their right to belong" to that Papatipu Rūnanga by contacting the rūnanga. It is also possible to utilise a roll of potential members compiled from the Whakapapa database held by Te Rūnanga. The majority of Papatipu Rūnanga use this process.

The short answer is that there is a choice of which membership roll could be used provided that the criteria used for compiling the roll is consistent with the Charter and the Act. In some instances Papatipu Rūnanga have indicated they will be using a combination of both of these rolls to ensure they reach the widest number of members and potential members.

The Whakapapa Unit has no formal role in the electoral process. However, the Whakapapa Unit has, at the request of Te Rūnanga and various Papatipu Rūnanga, undertaken work in consultation with each Papatipu Rūnanga to attempt to identify which Papatipu Rūnanga each of the 1848 Kaumātua would have been affiliated to in a modern context. Those lists are referred to as the lists of "potential members".

The Charter states that all eligible members of Ngāi Tahu Whānui who have established by descent that they are entitled to be members of that Papatipu Rūnanga and who are 18 years or over can vote. An implied / practical restriction on eligibility would be in circumstances where the contact details have not been updated by the individuals. Apart from those restrictions, the only other test for eligibility under the Charter is that the person has "established by descent their entitlement to belong" to a particular Papatipu Rūnanga.

If you are unsure of which Papatipu Rūnanga you are likely to be able to establish your membership to belong to then you can either contact the Whakapapa Unit or logon to the Community Net as the first step.

The next step is to look at the membership criteria for those Papatipu Rūnanga which you believe you belong to or that you want to ensure you can establish your right to belong to. Many of the Papatipu Rūnanga do not require you to register with them and will simply accept your membership as a "given".

However some Papatipu Rūnanga do require you to register. In terms of the postal voting process those Papatipu Rūnanga are expected to ensure that all potential members are given a reasonable opportunity to register in time to participate in the voting process. This is similar to the way the general elections are run.

Neither the Act nor the Charter contains any express provisions relating to this question. However, when the Act and the Charter are read together, it can be inferred that it must be the Papatipu Rūnanga who have responsibility for setting the criteria, subject to compliance with the Act and Charter. This is consistent with the recognition by Te Rūnanga of the Kaupapa Whakakotahi as set out in the Kawenata and the requirement that the Charter must be interpreted to give effect to the tino rangatiratanga of the Papatipu Rūnanga.

The Act provides that if there is a dispute regarding membership of a Papatipu Rūnanga it will be resolved, in the first instance by Te Rūnanga. If a person is dissatisfied with the decision of Te Rūnanga the matter can be referred to the Māori Land Court.

The candidates must be members of Ngāi Tahu Whānui, who have established their right by descent to belong to that Papatipu Rūnanga and be over 18 years of age. Papatipu Rūnanga may also have other criteria in their constitutions or election rules.

The exact role will depend on the Constitution or rules of the Papatipu Rūnanga or the Appointment Committee itself. In some instances the Appointment Committee once elected will undertake the process of seeking nominations for the positions of the Representative and Alternate Representative as well as meeting to decide which of the nominees should be appointed to fill those roles. If the Papatipu Rūnanga also conducts an indicative vote, then the Appointment Committee will be required to consider the outcome of that vote before making the appointments.

The candidates must be members of Ngāi Tahu Whānui, who have established their right by descent to belong to that Papatipu Rūnanga and be over 18 years of age. There are some standard restrictions as set out in the Charter to ensure that the Representative or Alternate Representative is not prohibited by law from carrying out the duties and functions of a Representative or Alternate Representative. Papatipu Rūnanga may also have other criteria in their constitutions or election rules.