Tama Potaka becomes MP, Labour loses and Dr Gaurav Sharma trounced
Venkat Raman
Auckland, December 10, 2022
The National Party regained the Hamilton West seat as voters picked Tama Potaka as their Member of Parliament in the by-election held today (Saturday, December 10, 2022).
According to the provisional results announced a short time ago, Potaka polled 6629 votes, leaving behind the Labour Party Candidate Georgie Dansey with 4344 votes.
The ACT Party had nominated James McDowall, its sitting MP. He collected 1462 votes, which Leader David Seymour said, ‘was more than 10% endorsement by the voting public.’
Gaurav Shama, the incumbent MP who caused the by-election after resigning from Parliament was trounced at the polls. Despite his earlier claims that he had overwhelming support of his electorate, he polled just 1156 votes.
Change is Coming: Chris Bishop
It was therefore not even a close fight and National Party’s victory was predicted by most observers. The Party’s Campaign Manager and Hutt South MP Chris Bishop said, “The people of Hamilton West have sent a strong message to the government: Change is coming.”
There were 12 candidates in the by-election but there was little doubt from the beginning that it would be a straight contest between National and Labour.
During his campaign, Potaka had told RNZ that he was a keen listener.
“I have been listening to the people in my electorate. I have heard their concerns, aspirations and desires. There are sad stories of their confrontation in their daily lives, issues related to crime, the law and order situation and the cost of living. I will do my best to address these,” he said.
Dansey conceded defeat in person to Potaka, saying that she was not surprised.
“I was not surprised because, in five out of six elections in the past, the National Party has won in Hamilton West. W, therefore, knew that it would be a tough fight.”
Former National Party Hamilton West MP Tim Macindoe had represented the electorate for 12 years before he lost to Labour in the 2020 election, which he said was a ‘red wave.’
He said that representing a seat like Hamilton West was both challenging and fascinating.
“Hamilton West reflects New Zealand’s diversity, certainly on an ethnic and population basis. Perhaps the only difference is that we have a lower age population here. There are a lot of young people in Waikato. People here wanted someone who is well engaged; someone who is accessible, willing to get around and know and understand their issues, listen and support them,” he said.
