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ISSUE
Friday, February 13, 2026
Volume 17 . Issue 06
The Auckland High Court on Tuesday reserved its judgment on whether it will consider a judicial review into a lower court order voiding last year’s Otara-Papatoetoe Local Board election, which the applicants have argued neither met principles of natural justice nor considered all possible scenarios.
On Tuesday, 17 February, Justice Jane Anderson heard for hours the case presented by the counsel for the applicants, the four winning candidates from the Papatoetoe Otara Action Team –Kunal Bhalla, Sandeep Saini, Paramjeet Singh and Kushma Nair –who were also present at the High Court in Auckland.
Their counsel argued that the increase in voter turnout, on its own, proved very little. He argued that more voters enrolled in Papatoetoe than in any other electorate across Auckland.
Counsel for the petitioner said there was no dispute that 79 ballot papers were misused. However, they challenged the District Court’s decision to go beyond that figure, arguing there was not enough evidence to treat it as the “tip of the iceberg” or to conclude that widespread fraud had occurred.
Citing Vote On The Go programme by Auckland Council, which has now been removed by the council for the upcoming by election, the counsel noted that communities and first-time candidates used resources into enrolling residents and removing barriers.
In a previous interview, Kunal Bhalla, the spokesperson for Papatoetoe Otara Action Team told The Indian Weekender that the ability for residents to enroll and vote at the same time, in “familiar and trusted community” settings, removed “practical and psychological barriers” for many first-time voters.
The petitioner also argued that the Papatoetoe Otara Action Team did not appear in the District Court in December during the ongoing case as due process wasn't followed.
Simon Mitchell, representing the Labour candidates noted in the court today that the election voting of 2025 had irregularities.
He disagreed on the suggestions that the election outcome was the result of a campaign by the candidates or shifts in the electorate’s demographics, arguing that the irregular special votes recorded in Papatoetoe stood out as an anomaly when compared with the rest of Auckland.
Voting for by elections opens on March 9. Preliminary results will be announced on 9 April, and final results are expected to come by 10 April.The election will be conducted using the first-past-the-post (FPP) system.
The Auckland High Court on Tuesday reserved its judgment on whether it will consider a judicial review into a lower court order voiding last year’s Otara-Papatoetoe Local Board election, which the applicants have argued neither met principles of natural justice nor considered all possible...
The Auckland High Court on Tuesday reserved its judgment on whether it will consider a judicial review into a lower court order voiding last year’s Otara-Papatoetoe Local Board election, which the applicants have argued neither met principles of natural justice nor considered all possible scenarios.
On Tuesday, 17 February, Justice Jane Anderson heard for hours the case presented by the counsel for the applicants, the four winning candidates from the Papatoetoe Otara Action Team –Kunal Bhalla, Sandeep Saini, Paramjeet Singh and Kushma Nair –who were also present at the High Court in Auckland.
Their counsel argued that the increase in voter turnout, on its own, proved very little. He argued that more voters enrolled in Papatoetoe than in any other electorate across Auckland.
Counsel for the petitioner said there was no dispute that 79 ballot papers were misused. However, they challenged the District Court’s decision to go beyond that figure, arguing there was not enough evidence to treat it as the “tip of the iceberg” or to conclude that widespread fraud had occurred.
Citing Vote On The Go programme by Auckland Council, which has now been removed by the council for the upcoming by election, the counsel noted that communities and first-time candidates used resources into enrolling residents and removing barriers.
In a previous interview, Kunal Bhalla, the spokesperson for Papatoetoe Otara Action Team told The Indian Weekender that the ability for residents to enroll and vote at the same time, in “familiar and trusted community” settings, removed “practical and psychological barriers” for many first-time voters.
The petitioner also argued that the Papatoetoe Otara Action Team did not appear in the District Court in December during the ongoing case as due process wasn't followed.
Simon Mitchell, representing the Labour candidates noted in the court today that the election voting of 2025 had irregularities.
He disagreed on the suggestions that the election outcome was the result of a campaign by the candidates or shifts in the electorate’s demographics, arguing that the irregular special votes recorded in Papatoetoe stood out as an anomaly when compared with the rest of Auckland.
Voting for by elections opens on March 9. Preliminary results will be announced on 9 April, and final results are expected to come by 10 April.The election will be conducted using the first-past-the-post (FPP) system.
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