(File photo) ballot box. Photo: 123RF
This election has 20 political parties vying for voters' affections, eight of which appear linked to the Tamakis or anti-government fringe groups.
It also marks the first time since 1951 an election has not included Social Credit, the party having deregistered in February after the death of its leader Chris Leitch.
Parties must be registered with the Electoral Commission before the issuing of the Writ, which officially sets the election date and begins the election period, coming seven days before the official dissolution of Parliament.
For the 2023 election, Writ Day was on 10 September. Registration typically takes about eight weeks, so parties aiming to register need to leave enough time for that to complete before Writ Day.
The deadline for submitting party lists and party electorate nominations was midday on Thursday (14 September), while the deadline for individual nominations - candidates not affiliated to a registered party - was midday on Friday (15 September).
Party registrations must include the party's name and any abbreviations, its secretary, auditor, and logo, and a list of the party's rules. It must also have evidence of at least 500 financial members who are eligible to vote, make a declaration that it has that many members, and pay $500 to the Electoral Commission.
Those registered include the five parties already in Parliament; three single-issue parties, eight parties linked to Destiny Church leaders Brian and Hannah Tamaki or linked to fringe protest groups. Half of those eight registered in August.
There are also four others: NZ First, New Conservatives (formerly New Conservative), former National MP Alfred Ngaro's Christian family values party New Zeal (formerly One NZ), and The Opportunities Party.
The 20 total registered parties compares to 17 in the 2020 election.
While most parties operate independently, some are encompassed by "umbrella" parties. For example, Freedoms NZ (whose website features a grinning Brian Tamaki) also takes the party votes of two other registered parties: the NZ Outdoors and Freedom Party and the Hannah Tamaki-led Vision New Zealand.
It also claims affiliation with unregistered party 'Rock the Vote NZ', which won't collect any party votes.
Registered parties are eligible for party votes, appear on ballot papers, and must comply with financial disclosure and audit rules.
Unregistered parties can stand candidates in electorate seats but - as the name suggests - they do not need to register, don't need to file a logo, and although they must account for candidates' spending, they don't need to file donations or other financial information.
For example, if one of Rock the Vote's electorate candidates wins a seat, Freedoms NZ as a whole would get into Parliament with its number of MPs proportional to its party vote.
Freedoms NZ is far from the first umbrella party, with others including Advance NZ in 2020, Internet-MANA in 2014, and The Alliance of 1993-99.
The single-issue parties this year include the long-standing Aotearoa Legalise Cannabis Party set up in 1996, and two parties set up in August: the Animal Justice Party which wants to set up a Commissioner for Animals, and the Women's Rights Party which protests the "erosion of sex-based rights".
Te Pāti Māori filed the most recent logo change - just last Friday - changing the macron on the 'ā' to red instead of the black of the other letters. The oldest logo is Labour's: the party hasn't updated it since June 2016.
The Electoral Commission is expected to publish a list of all confirmed electorate candidates at 2pm on Saturday, 16 September.
