Will’s Word: When democracy breaks, we have to pay attention

Big news out yesterday regarding that local election result in Papatoetoe. An Auckland judge has upheld a petition in the Manukau District Court calling for a judicial enquiry following allegations of fraud in an Auckland local body election.

The judge ruled that the irregularities materially affected the results. I'll say that again: materially affected the results. Declaring the election of local board members for the Papatoetoe subdivision of the Ōtara-Papatoetoe Local Board void.

This should never have happened, but it did, and that matters. A local election, which you could argue is the most basic building block of democracy, has been overturned because the process could not be trusted.

Not because of a typo, not because of a recount, but because serious questions were raised about how votes were gathered and handled. This didn't come out of nowhere. It started with locals noticing things that didn't sit right.

So, instead of shrugging and moving on, people spoke up. That takes courage and persistence. It takes faith that the system is worth fighting for, even when it probably feels uncomfortable. This court decision that was handed out is proof to me that democracy still matters.

That when concerns are tested properly, there are consequences. Even if they are messy, even if they are inconvenient. So, good on the people I say who refused to let this slide.

Good on those who took the time, the stress, and the criticism to push this all the way. Because they were chasing fairness, and now Papatoetoe gets another chance.

That's Will's Word.

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