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October 19, 2020
Tamihere ready to hand reins to man in cowboy hat
Waatea Team
Posted On October 19, 2020
The Māori Party is preparing to transfer its male co-leader’s position to Waiariki candidate Rawiri Waititi.
The cowboy hat-wearing candidate is waiting on special votes to confirm whether he maintains or extends his 415 vote election night margin over Labour’s Tamati Coffey.
Current co-leader John Tamihere says his son in law has won the mandate of the street, and he’s happy to hand over the position.
"Being a co-leader is nothing to me if we continue to keep our eye on the prize – that is advancing our people's interest at all cost at any cost and we have to do that any way we can. So Rawiri winning Waiariki, it follows that he must become co-leader. There is a party machinery that needs to be sorted out to do that. It is in play now," he says.
John Tamihere says early voting probably cost the Māori Party two more seats as it saw a surge of support in the last week of the campaign, but having a voice back in parliament is a great platform for 2023.
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