ACT's Kiwi-Indian candidate pauses election campaign, questions party list ranking process
ACT's Waikato candidate Himanshu Parmar and leader David Seymour.
“I am seriously considering what my political involvement looks like from here," says Himanshu Parmar.
ACT’s Waikato candidate Himanshu “Ash” Parmar has paused his election campaign and says he is seriously reconsidering his political future after raising concerns about the process surrounding the party’s new election list.
Parmar, who was placed 16th on the list released on Sunday, made the announcement in a Facebook post on September 16. His ranking is three places lower than the 13th position he held on ACT’s 2023 list.
“After the party list announcement, I have taken some time to reflect,” Parmar wrote. “There have been some issues surrounding the process and I am working through these privately with the party.”
He said ACT’s field director had advised him to stop campaigning while those issues were being worked through. He also cast doubt over whether he would remain involved in politics.
“I am seriously considering what my political involvement looks like from here,” he wrote.
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Parmar did not spell out what his concerns about the list process were and said he would not discuss them publicly while talks with the party continued.
“I don’t think it would be appropriate for me to comment further while this process is underway,” he said.
Parmar had been ranked 13th on ACT’s list in 2023, when the party ultimately returned 11 MPs to Parliament.
This year he has slipped to 16th, with three first-time ACT list candidates – Iain Murray, Alex Price and Janelle Hocking – placed ahead of him.
Parmar is a Waikato businessman with a long background in retail and has also been involved in community organisations in Hamilton.
He was appointed in 2024 to the government’s Ministerial Advisory Group for Victims of Retail Crime, which was established to provide ministers with independent advice on tackling retail offending and protecting retailers and workers.
The group considered issues including the powers of security guards, how business owners could deal with shoplifters and the use of facial recognition technology. Its work concluded in May this year.
Parmar was selected as ACT’s Waikato candidate earlier this year. In his Facebook post, he thanked supporters for the messages he had received.
“I genuinely appreciate the support and encouragement I have received,” he wrote. “I will provide an update once I have more clarity.”
An ACT Party campaign spokesman told NZ Herald that “elections can be a tough time for candidates”.
