2025 Nelson City Council election

2025 Nelson City Council election

11 October 2025
Mayoral election
 
Candidate Nick Smith Aaron Stallard
Affiliation Independent Independent
Primary vote 10,957 6,898
Percentage 58.32% 36.71%

Mayor before election

Nick Smith
Independent

Elected mayor

Nick Smith
Independent

Council election

12 seats on the Nelson City Council
7 seats needed for a majority
Party Seats +/–
Independent

11 +2
Labour

1 +1
This lists parties that won seats. See the complete results below.

The 2025 Nelson City Council election was a local election held from 9 September to 11 October in Nelson, New Zealand, as part of that year's territorial authority elections and other local elections held nation-wide.

Voters elected the mayor of Nelson and 12 city councillors for the 2025–2028 term of the Nelson City Council. Postal voting and the single transferable voting system were used.

Incumbent mayor Nick Smith won re-election to a second term.

The council introduced a Māori ward at the 2022 election; in a referendum on its future held at this election (as part of a nation-wide series of referendums) voters elected to keep the Māori ward.