Party registrations due soon
Political parties that want to be registered in time for the 2026 General Election have less than a month to submit their paperwork by the recommended date of 11 June.
Unregistered parties can stand candidates in electorates. The party name appears underneath the candidate’s name on the voting paper.
Only registered parties can contest the party vote and stand list candidates in the election. The party’s logo will appear on the voting paper.
The last recommended date to lodge an application to register a party and logo is 11 June. That allows eight weeks processing time before 6 August, which is the legal deadline to register.
To apply, parties need to submit a suitable name, along with evidence of 500 paying members who can enrol to vote, rules about party membership, and an auditor.
There is an opportunity for the public to have a say on party names and logos before the Electoral Commission Board considers the application for registration.
Currently there are 13 registered parties: The ACT Party, Animal Justice Party, The Cannabis Party, Conservative Party NZ, NZ First, Labour Party, NZ Outdoors & Freedom Party, Opportunity Party, Te Pāti Māori, Green Party, National Party, Vision NZ, Women’s Rights Party.
There are 4 parties that have applied for the 2026 broadcasting allocation and said they intend to register: New Zealand Loyal, Change New Zealand, Free Palestine, People’s Party New Zealand Incorporated.
Links to more information
Register of political parties
Broadcasting allocation
Current party and logo applications
Key dates for registering a party
Party registration handbook
Party registration application forms and templates