Photo / SuppliedThe country's "unapologetic Māori voice" is returning to Parliament with Rawiri Waititi wresting the Waiariki seat off Labour's Tāmati Coffey. He thanked Māori Party supporters in the Waiariki electorate, and for voters listening to their calls to split the Māori vote, giving the Māori Party the electorate vote and their party vote to Labour, whose Māori MPs, including Coffey, would all get in on the list anyway. The fate of the Māori Party sat on a knife's edge all election night. The 2020 election saw the Māori Party launch a fighting campaign. The 2017 election resulted in a tumultuous shift in Māori politics, with all seven Māori seats going to Labour candidates.

Source: New Zealand Herald October 17, 2020 10:41 UTC