The Whakatane District Council has this week received a petition, signed by around 1800 people, demanding a poll of electors be undertaken on the decision to introduce a Maori ward or wards at the 2019 local government election.

The petition is now being inspected by the district's electoral officer to confirm that it meets the test of being signed by at least five per cent (1161) of registered voters.

Assuming the validity of the petition is confirmed, Mayor Tony Bonne says the next step in this process will be to issue a public notice that a poll will be undertaken.

'That notice will be issued on February 23 and the electoral roll will then be open for inspection through until March23,” he explains.

'A public notice of the day of poll would then be issued on March 28. Voting papers and information packs will then be sent to all registered electors on Friday April 27 and voting will be open through until midday on May 19. Preliminary results should be available later that day and the electoral officer will provide an official declaration of the outcome on May 21.”

If a majority of the people voting in the poll vote against Maori wards, the proposal will lapse.

If a majority vote in favour of Maori wards, that will trigger a representation review, which will see the council decide on how the wards system should work, and then a period of community consultation before a final decision is made.

Any objections to that decision would then be referred to the Local Government Commission for a ruling.