The Electoral Commission has released the nominations for the 2014 General Election, with 15 registered political parties and 554 candidates contesting the election.

Registered Parties Seeking the Party Vote

The registered parties seeking the party vote are:

1. ACT New Zealand
2. Aotearoa Legalise Cannabis Party
3. Ban1080
4. Conservative
5. Democrats for Social Credit
6. Focus New Zealand
7. Green Party
8. Internet MANA
9. Labour Party
10. Māori Party
11. National Party
12. New Zealand First Party
13. NZ Independent Coalition
14. The Civilian Party
15. United Future

13 registered political parties contested the general election in 2011.

Candidates

A total of 554 candidates (electorate and list) are standing in this year's election. This compares with 544 candidates in the 2011 election.

71 candidates are on the party list only and 114 are standing as electorate candidates only. 38 electorate candidates are standing as independents or representing unregistered parties (only registered parties are eligible to contest the party vote).

The number of candidates standing both as an electorate candidate and on a party list is 369.

The electorates with the most candidates are Epsom and Tauranga with 11 and the electorate with the lowest number of candidates is Hauraki-Waikato with 3.

390 men and 164 women are standing in the 2014 General Election. In 2011 there were 397 men and 147 women standing.

The elections website www.elections.org.nz has full information by electorate including candidates, advance voting places and election day voting places at www.elections.org.nz/events/2014-general-election/information-voters-who-when-and-where

The party lists are available at www.elections.org.nz/2014partylists

Attached is the number of list candidates and the number of electorate candidates representing those parties seeking the party vote.