2016 New Zealand local elections
The 2016 New Zealand local elections were triennial elections that were held from September until 8 October 2016 to elect local mayors and councillors, regional councillors, and members of various other local government bodies.
10 of New Zealand's 11 regions and all 67 cities and districts participated in the election.
Background
Electoral systems
The local elections were held using postal ballots. Most city and district councils and all but one regional council used the first-past-the-post voting system, with the exception of Dunedin City Council, Kāpiti Coast District Council, Marlborough District Council, Palmerston North City Council, Porirua City Council, and Wellington City Council that use the single transferable vote voting system. The Wellington Regional Council was the sole regional council to use the STV system.All District Health Boards used the STV system.Councils under Crown Commission
Since 2010, Environment Canterbury had been under statutory management. For the 2016 local elections, the government allowed seven members of ECan to be elected alongside six commissioners appointed by the government.Statutory management in Kaipara District ended, and the district held its first elections since 2010.