2019 New Zealand local elections

The 2019 New Zealand local elections were triennial elections to select local government officials and district health board members. Under section 10 of the Local Electoral Act 2001, a "general election of members of every local authority or community board must be held on the second Saturday in October in every third year" from the date the Act came into effect in 2001, meaning 12 October 2019.

Most of the local elections were run by one of two companies on behalf of individual local bodies. Sometimes the company also provides the electoral officer.

Aside from Auckland, Christchurch and Wellington, most candidates for office did not stand for a political party or ticket.

Election schedule
Key dates relating to the general election were as follows:

Results
In Auckland, Phil Goff was re-elected Mayor and at least 16 of the city's 20 councillors retained their seats, with two new councillors winning seats which were vacated by retirement. In Hamilton, incumbent mayor Andrew King lost to Paula Southgate, who previously challenged him in 2016, while four controversial councillors were voted out of office. In Wellington incumbent mayor Justin Lester was unseated by Andy Foster, who received a high-profile endorsement from filmmaker Sir Peter Jackson. The election also marked the first time a Green Party member was elected to serve as a mayor in New Zealand, with Aaron Hawkins being elected Mayor of Dunedin.

According to The Spinoff editor Toby Manhire, the 2019 local elections had the lowest number of candidate nominations relative to the total number of available seats. Of the 572 local body elections held that year, 101 seats and positions were not contested while 235 candidates were elected unopposed.

Regional council chairs
There are sixteen regions for local government purposes. Eleven are administered by regional councils and five are administered by unitary authorities: Auckland, Gisborne, Tasman, Nelson, and Marlborough. In unitary authorities, the local mayor is the head of government. In the remaining regional councils, the elected members vote for their chair and deputy.

Detailed information

 * 2019 Northland local elections
 * 2019 Auckland local elections
 * 2019 Waikato local elections
 * 2019 Bay of Plenty local elections
 * 2019 Gisborne local elections
 * 2019 Hawke's Bay local elections
 * 2019 Taranaki local elections
 * 2019 Manawatū-Whanganui local elections
 * 2019 Wellington local elections
 * 2019 Tasman local elections
 * 2019 Nelson local elections
 * 2019 Marlborough local elections
 * 2019 West Coast local elections
 * 2019 Canterbury local elections
 * 2019 Otago local elections
 * 2019 Southland local elections