Tauranga will have a mayor and councillors for the first time in years after voting in the local body election closes at midday Saturday.
The last council was sacked by the government in February 2021 and replaced with commissioners who have been running the city since.
However, only a quarter - 25.9 percent - of eligible residents had cast their vote as of 5pm on Thursday, when the most up-to-date figures were released.
That is despite voting being easier than ever in the city, where for the first time orange containers in locations like malls and supermarkets allow locals to drop in their postal ballets.
One of those containers was placed at a supermarket in Tauriko.
Outside, people were aware of the election but had not voted when they spoke to RNZ, though most said they were planning to.
Simon Forster was one such resident. He said he had the voting papers at home but was still doing his research on the candidates.
Tauranga resident Simon Forster. Photo: RNZ/Calvin Samuel
"Making sure I know the policies they are standing for, what some of their track record is, if they have been in local government in the past - that's always a good place to start," he said.
Forster was trying to take a balanced approach rather than being driven by one issue.
With 15 people standing for mayor and 70 people standing for the nine councillor positions, some main streets in the city were covered in election signage.
A married couple who had both cast their votes said they each picked three candidates.
Tauranga is using the Single Transferable Vote (STV) system, where voters rank preferred candidates using numbers rather than ticks.
"We didn't put many selections, only three. We had an option to make a long list but no, we only picked three," the husband said..
It was also important to them that the candidates lived in the area.
"There's quite a few who live out of the area," he said.
Adrienne says the number of candidates who live outside the Tauranga City Council area is a problem. Photo: RNZ/Calvin Samuel
Adrienne, who did not give her last name, saw that as a problem.
"I would have voted for Mahé Drysdale [for mayor] but he didn't live here. But now I hear he is moving here," she said.
Adrienne wanted the new council to bring more life back to the central city.
"We've had too many Bayfairs, all those other places that people go. Apart from the library, the Farmers, a few cafes, there's not much. But I still love Tauranga," she said.
The new mayor and councillors will have a four-year term to put the council in line with the rest of the country's local body elections.
