A Green Party candidate has defended her unconventional social media campaign featuring images of fit men and women in swimwear, saying it has successfully encouraged thousands of people to enrol to vote despite criticism from political opponents, Stuff has reported.
According to a report by Stuff, Tania Waikato, the Green Party candidate contesting the Waiariki electorate against Te Pāti Māori co-leader Rawiri Waititi, has launched what she calls the “bikini baddies and buff bros” campaign. Each post features minimally clothed volunteers alongside reminders to enrol to vote and information about deadlines for enrolling or switching between the general and Māori electoral rolls.
The campaign comes after recent changes to New Zealand's electoral laws reduced the period during which voters can enrol and switch electoral rolls. As of Wednesday, there were eight days remaining to change rolls and 89 days until polling day.
NZ First MP Shane Jones criticised the campaign, describing it as evidence of a double standard after he faced backlash over his own recent remarks. “My point is the Green Party and Labour Party lambasted me for ‘crassness’. Is this their template to win the next election?” he asked, Stuff has quoted.
Jones argued that earlier generations of Green Party leaders would not have accepted such an approach. “There is a double standard here. The Greens and Labour obviously agree with this because none of them are condemning it, but they are quick out of the starting blocks to mischaracterise my remark and dismiss it as lewd or crass. This is classic double standard,” he said, as quoted by Stuff.
Green co-leader Marama Davidson acknowledged that the campaign had generated mixed reactions but said its impact could not be ignored.
“I understand that this campaign is not for everyone, but the campaign is for people who are traditionally not engaging with all of the political campaigns, and in that, [Waikato] has had 3000 people go through to the register website,” Davidson said, as quoted by Stuff.
Although Davidson admitted the campaign was “not my cup of tea”, she said she appreciated the results it had achieved, Stuff has quoted.
Speaking to Stuff, Tania Waikato said the campaign had attracted widespread attention online.
“They’re doing their best, but it’s not enough. 230,000 people could be disenfranchised this year because of voter suppression laws this Government has passed. I’m just doing my bit to reduce that travesty,” Waikato said, as quoted by Stuff.
She said more than 500,000 people had viewed the campaign posts, making them significantly more successful than the Electoral Commission's own social media efforts encouraging voter enrolment and updates to electoral details.
According to Stuff, Waikato also clarified that everyone featured in the campaign had volunteered to participate. Among the models are musician Kingz and Ms World New Zealand winner Zeisha Wood.
The campaign has sparked debate over the use of unconventional social media strategies in politics, with supporters pointing to increased voter engagement and critics questioning whether the approach is appropriate for an election campaign, Stuff has reported.
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