The electorate has been Rino Tirikatene’s for more than a decade. But with just less than 5% of the votes to be counted, Ferris’ majority of votes over 1,400 seems to have locked him in as the next Te Tai Tonga champion.
Near the start of Whakaata Māori’s Whakatau 2023 election coverage, Tirikatene acknowledged his opponent’s early lead and the changing times for Te Tai Tonga.
The recent Whakaata Māori poll of the electorate showed a large number of undecided voters that would work immensely in Ferris’ favour. That’s now resulted in many choosing Ferris.
