Ruapehu Backs Vote2016 Campaign

Ruapehu District Council (RDC) has confirmed its participation in the Local Government New Zealand (LGNZ) Vote2016 campaign to increase nationwide voter participation in the October local elections to more than 50 per cent.

Local election turnout has been declining since the 1980s and only 42 per cent of New Zealanders voted in the 2013 elections, down from 49 per cent in 2010.

Mayor Don Cameron said that RDC fully endorsed the campaign and its objectives and encourages all eligible voters to get involved by informing themselves of the issues confronting Ruapehu, voting for their preferred candidate, and maybe even deciding to stand as a candidate themselves.

“Our district faces some big challenges and we need to ensure that we have elected representatives that have the energy, leadership ability and diversity of skills to meet these head on,” he said.

“Just as significantly we need people to vote and then continue to engage with Council by keeping themselves informed around local issues and having their say on them.”

“In 2013 Ruapehu was one of the few districts to show an increase in voting with a turnout of 47% up from 44% in 2010 and we want to see this become a long term trend of increasing participation.”

LGNZ President Lawrence Yule welcomes Ruapehu partnering with LGNZ in the Vote2016 campaign and helping to build stronger communities through more engaged local democracy.

“Vote2016 is focused on building a larger pool of skilled local candidates to stand in their communities and inspiring more people to vote,” said Mr Yule.

LGNZ research shows a significant number of citizens are interested in the local government process but don’t vote, or want to vote but say it’s too hard to find the information to make an informed decision.

“Vote2016 will support Ruapehu in ensuring voters have access to the information they need about local candidates standing and about the voting process, including when, where and how they can vote,” said Mr Yule.

For more information on voting or standing as a candidate including Ruapehu’s pre-election candidate workshops visit www.ruapehudc.govt.nz

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