Jonathan Larsen is ahead by a razor-thin, five-vote margin in the race to be the next Kaipara mayor. Photo: RNZ / Peter de Graaf
Knife-edge results in two out of three Northland districts mean voters may have to wait days to find out who will be mayor for the next three years.
In the Kaipara District, just 74 votes separate the top three contenders in the mayoral race.
Former professional firefighter and current Deputy Mayor Jonathan Larsen is narrowly ahead of iwi leader Snow Tane, who has an even thinner lead over third-placed Jason Smith, a past mayor who's come back for another go.
As of Saturday's progress results - which do not include last-minute and special votes - Larsen had 2534 votes to Tane's 2482 and Smith's 2460.
Iwi leader Snow Tane is just five votes behind Jonathan Larsen in Kaipara's mayoral race. Photo: RNZ / Peter de Graaf
The trio reflect the district's sharp geographical divisions, with Larsen hailing from in Towai in the east, Tane based in the western town of Dargaville, and Smith farming at Matakohe in the centre.
Larsen was endorsed by outgoing mayor and self-described 'Trump of the North', Craig Jepson, who is contesting a council seat only.
Jepson is on track to win a spot at the council table, currently placed second in the three-seat Kaiwaka-Mangawhai Ward.
Third-placed Jason Smith, Kaipara's mayor in 2018-22, is also within striking distance of another term. Photo: RNZ / Peter de Graaf
Meanwhile, voters in neighbouring Whangārei have also produced a mayoral cliff-hanger.
There, the incumbent Vince Cocurullo is just 67 votes ahead of his nearest rival, councillor Ken Couper.
The tallies so far are 9841 for Cocurullo and 9774 for Couper. Third-placed Marie Olsen is on 6937.
The outcomes in both races are unlikely to be certain until the final results are released, which could come any day between Monday and Friday.
Former commercial banker Ash Nayyar is in fourth place in Kaipara's mayoral race. Photo: RNZ / Peter de Graaf
There's no such uncertainty, however, in the Far North, where Moko Tepania has romped in for a second term with an unassailable 3600-vote majority.
According to the progress results, the Kaikohe-based former te reo teacher has 10,502 votes, more than his two rivals combined.
Moko Tepania in the Far North is the only Northland mayoral candidate who can be sure of their seat. Photo: Peter de Graaf
Veteran councillor Ann Court has so far received 6891 votes in her third tilt at the mayoralty, while Joshua Riley, running on a sovereignty platform, has 3156 in his second attempt.
Several seats at the council table, especially in the hotly contested Bay of Islands-Whangaroa ward, remain too close to call.
Tepania has previously served one term as councillor and one term as mayor.
When first elected to the Far North's top job in 2022, Tepania was the youngest mayor in Northland history and the first Māori mayor of the Far North.
Māori ward referenda delivered mixed results across the North.
Whangārei District Council and Northland Regional Council voters rejected Māori wards by 13,525 to 10,177 and 26,676 to 24,586, respectively.
In the Far North, however, voters opted to retain the four-seat Ngā Tai o Tokerau Māori Ward by 10,980 votes to 9292.
Kaipara District Council was one of only two local authorities in the country to abolish its Māori ward without holding a referendum.
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