Police close case despite courts finding irregularities tainted Papatoetoe election

Summarised by Centrist

Police have closed a 10-month investigation into alleged fraud in the 2025 Ōtara-Papatoetoe Local Board election, despite two courts upholding a finding that voting irregularities materially affected the result.

All four Papatoetoe subdivision seats were originally won by newcomers from the Papatoetoe Ōtara Action Team. Complaints subsequently raised concerns about unusual turnout, the handling of voting papers and reports that ballots had been cast without voters’ consent.

Detective Inspector Shaun Vickers said police conducted a thorough review but found “insufficient evidence to proceed further” under the Solicitor-General’s Prosecution Guidelines.

The decision means there will be no criminal charges. It does not overturn the courts’ findings about the validity of the election.

Labour candidate Lehopoaome Vi Hausia had petitioned for a judicial inquiry. In December, District Court Judge Richard McIlraith found the irregularities had “materially affected the result” and declared the election void.

Four successful Papatoetoe Ōtara Action Team candidates sought a judicial review, but the High Court upheld the District Court’s decision in February.

Justice Anderson also rejected social media claims that the ruling showed immigrant corruption or that Indian candidates had orchestrated fraudulent voting. He called those interpretations a “misleading and improper report” of the judgment, noting that 

Hausia had not alleged, and the District Court had not found, that the candidates were involved in misusing voting papers.

The Papatoetoe Ōtara Action Team welcomed the police decision, saying its confidence in New Zealand’s institutions had remained and that “justice and truth” should be allowed to take their course.

A replacement election was held in April. Hausia finished first with 2,788 votes, while three Papatoetoe Ōtara Action Team candidates secured the remaining seats.

Read more at RNZ

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