Elections
The next Bay of Plenty Regional Council local election will be held on Saturday 11 October 2025.
Local body elections 2025
Local elections are held every three years. In the Bay of Plenty, residents and other ratepayers have the chance to vote for 14 Bay of Plenty Regional Councillors representing Tauranga, Western Bay of Plenty, Rotorua, Whakatāne, Kawerau, Ōpōtiki and a small part of Taupō.
Candidates Information Webinar
If you’re thinking about standing for Bay of Plenty Regional Council in the upcoming 2025 elections, register to attend our Candidates Information Webinar. The session is an opportunity to learn more about the elections process, information about candidate guidelines and what it means to be a Regional Councillor.
Date: Wednesday 18 June 2025
Time: 6pm to 7.30pm
Please register here so that the webinar link can be sent to you.
If you are unable to attend the online session, we'll be recording it and making it available for you to watch after the event.
You can also find out more about what it means to be a Regional Councillor here.
Find out more about the elections process, what the job of a regional councillor is and whether or not you're eligible to be nominated as a councillor.
Previous elections information
Information about previous Regional Council Elections
Key dates
- Friday 4 July 2025: candidate nominations open, roll opens for public inspection
- Friday 1 August 2025: candidate nominations close at 12 noon, roll closes
- Tuesday 9 September 2025: voting documents posted out, voting opens
- Saturday 11 October 2025: voting closes at 12 noon
- Saturday 11 October 2025: preliminary results available
- Thursday 16 – Sunday 19 October 2025: declaration of final results
Māori Constituencies
Legislation changes in 2022 require councils that introduced Māori wards or constituencies after 2020 to hold a binding poll to determine whether those wards or constituencies will continue beyond 2028. Where required, the poll will be included as part of the 2025 voting paper.
Bay of Plenty Regional Council introduced its Māori constituencies in 2001, under the Bay of Plenty Regional Council (Māori Constituency Empowering) Act 2001, and they became operational in 2004.
The Regional Council is not required to hold a poll as part of these elections.
Find out more about our Māori constituency seats.
Enrolling to vote
How do I enrol to vote?
You can enrol as a resident if you:
- are 18 years or older,
- are a New Zealand Citizen or permanent resident,
- have lived in New Zealand continuously for 12 months or more at some time in your life.
If you’re enrolled to vote for the parliamentary elections, then you’re automatically enrolled for Council elections too.
Visit vote.nz, email enrol@vote.nz, call 0800 36 76 56, or freetext your name and address to 3676 to enrol to vote or to update your enrolment details.
How to enrol as a non-resident ratepayer
If you own property in the Bay of Plenty but live elsewhere, you may be able to enrol as a non-resident ratepayer elector and vote in both areas. You can check your eligibility and enrol by visiting the ElectioNZ ratepayer enrolment portal.
BOPRC Representation Review 2024
Every six years councils must review how communities are represented in the make-up of their council. A representation review looks at the structures in place, including the number of constituencies (electoral areas) and their boundaries, the number of elected members (councillors) representing each constituency and the names of our General and Māori constituencies.
The 2024 Representation Review is now complete and has resulted in Council having 14 Councillors representing 4 general constituencies (Western Bay of Plenty, Tauranga, Rotorua and Eastern Bay of Plenty) and 3 Māori constituencies (Mauao, Ōkurei and Kōhi).
To read the Local Government Commissions determination please visit Bay-of-Plenty-Regional-Council-Determination-2024.pdf
For general information about the project please visit Participate BOPRC.