Auckland Council has rejected criticism of its staff over bungled local election nominations, saying candidates are ultimately responsible for their own forms.
Auckland Future co-ordinator Sue Wood has blamed Auckland Council's chaotic office in Manukau for the nomination mix-up. Photo: RNZ / Todd Niall
Two candidates for the National Party-backed Auckland Future filled out the wrong forms and its co-ordinator Sue Wood has blamed an under-staffed and chaotic council office in Manukau.
One candidate, Viliami Tiseli, was accidentally nominated to run against the group's only sitting councillor Denise Krum.
And Tai'ivao Cruikshank also filled out the wrong form for a local board nomination - and was rejected.
In a statement, a council spokeswoman said four staff were on hand to assist with the process but it was up to the candidate to fill the forms out correctly.
"Part of our role is assisting candidates with this process, however all candidates are ultimately responsible for filling in the form correctly."
"The nomination forms for both Ward Councillor and Local Board member are clearly marked on the form," she said.
The statement went on, "We can confirm 21 Auckland Future candidates arrived as a group at the Manukau Service Centre around midday on Thursday August 11 to register their nominations for the local body elections.
"Approximately 18 of the nominees required a phone call to the Electoral Office to confirm their names and addresses, as their registration on the electoral roll had been 48 hours prior."
Processing the group took until 4.30pm because of the extra checks.
Auckland Council electoral officer Dale Ofsoske said the complaint from Auckland Future was being looked into.