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“We have three busy years ahead of us and we look forward to this exciting next chapter in our movement. We wish Jami-Lee Ross much excitement and will continue to support him on his journey wherever it is needed.
“The NZPP is clear that its leader is not going to resign and is not severing its relationship with Advance NZ. It is simply restoring its autonomy.”
Te Kahika Jr, a blues musician, quickly gathered thousands of followers online earlier this year thanks to a mix of anti-establishment rhetoric and selling off conspiracy theories and misinformation about COVID-19.
The policies of the NZPP, which joined forces with Advance NZ a few months before the elections, include a promise to restore the integrity of the government, investigate UN agendas and study the use of 1080 and 5G technology.
But on election night, Advance NZ didn’t make much of an impression, and neither did he, finishing fourth in the Maori electorate of Te Tai Tokerau, which was widely won by Labor MP Kelvin Davis.
In an outlandish video posted on social media after the election, Te Kahika Jr claimed that the election was “rigged” and that the small portion of Advance NZ’s preliminary votes showed it had been “rigged.”
“I agree with not going to Parliament and not winning enough votes, but not [okay] with 1 percent. I’ve been saying all week that if they turn around and say we only have 1 percent, then they have misled us, “he said.
“People are waking up very, very quickly to the idea that this government and this whole system is corrupt, it is not real.”
In a particularly bizarre segment, he said he feared that many Advance NZ votes would not have been counted because some had left “little comments or smiley faces” on their voting forms.
However, last week, the Election Commission dismissed Te Kahika Jr.’s claims.
“If a voter has written a comment or drawn a smiley face, it will not disqualify the vote. Votes will be counted if the voter’s intentions are clear,” a spokesperson said.
“New Zealand has a strong and transparent electoral system with many checks and balances. The vote counting process is thorough and careful.
“It is subject to independent scrutiny by candidate and party scrutineers, justices of the peace and the judiciary if there are recount or electoral petitions.”
