The Otago Regional Council (ORC) has received just one official nomination for the upcoming local government elections but ORC interim chief executive Pim Borrem says recent candidate information sessions have produced promising engagement.

Twelve councillors are sought for four constituencies: Six for the Dunedin constituency; three for Dunstan (which includes Central Otago); two for Molyneux; and one for Moeraki.

“ORC staff have been attending information evenings with our district council colleagues, and our social media campaign encouraging people to stand has resulted in higher traffic to the nomination forms we have up on our website, which is a great result,” Pim said.

Kevin Malcolm has thrown his hat in the ring for re-election in the Moeraki constituency and Dustan councillor Alexa Forbes has signalled she will run again, but Kevin is the only person officially listed as a candidate so far.

Pim says being an ORC councillor is rewarding work.

“You don't need any special qualifications to be a candidate. Elected members come from all backgrounds and walks of life and diversity in the mix is ideal.

“To be effective you will need to bring a broad range of skills to the role including decision-making and strategic thinking, communication skills and the desire to engage with your community as part of your role, plus relationship-building and collaboration skills.”

Voting will take place by mail and residents should ensure they are enrolled to vote and their details are up to date

Otago residents who don’t plan to run for the election will still need to ensure they are set up to vote: Anyone who hasn’t yet received an enrolment pack in the mail will need to update their details or enrol to vote before August 12.

Do this by going to the New Zealand Voting website or by calling 0800 36 76 56.

Voting will begin, by postal vote, from September 16, the same day delivery of the voting papers will begin.

The preliminary results of the election will be shared on October 8.