Kia ora, tamariki mā! Ākene pea kua kite koe i ngā kōrero i te pouaka whakaata, i te ipurangi, i ngā niupepa anō hoki mō te pōtitanga kei mua i te aroaro. Heoi, he aha tēnei mea, te pōtitanga? He aha hoki e hirahira ai? Nā, i ia toru tau ka whai tātou i tētahi tukanga e kōwhiringia ai e ngā kirirarau o Aotearoa ngā kaiwhakahaere o te motu. Ka kīia tērā tukanga he pōtitanga.
He maha ō tātou pāti tōrangapū, he pērā i ngā kōwhiringa aihikirīmi rerekē, ā, kei tēnā pāti, kei tēnā pāti ōna ake whakaaro mō te whakahaere i tō tātou whenua.
I ia rohenga, he tangata motuhake tō ngā pāti, ka kīia rātou he kaitono. He pērā i te kōwhiri i te momo aihikirīmi pai katoa, e wātea ana ngā pakeke ki te kōwhiri i tō rātou kaitono pai katoa i tētahi rā motuhake, e kīia nei ko te rā pōti.
I te rā pōti, ka toro atu ngā pakeke i tētahi wāhi motuhake ki reira tuku pōti ai. Ko ngā kaitono ka kōwhiria nuitia, ko rātou ka tū hei Mema Pāremata mō tō rātou rohe, ka mutu, ko te pāti kei a rātou ngā Mema Pāremata tokomaha katoa, ko rātou ka whakahaere i te motu.
Ko te rā pōti e whai ake nei mō Aoteroa ka tū ā te Rāhoroi, te 14 o Oketopa.
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ENGLISH TRANSLATION
Kia ora, tamariki mā! You might have seen lots on TV, online, and in the papers about the upcoming election. But what is an election? And why is it so important? Well, every three years we go through a process where the people of Aotearoa decide who will lead our country. That process is called an election.
We have many political parties, like different flavours of ice cream, and each party have their own ideas and plans for how to run our country.
In each area, parties have a special person, called a candidate. Just like choosing their favourite ice cream flavour, adults get to choose their favourite candidate on a special day, called election day.
On election day, adults vote for their favourite candidates at a special place called a polling booth. The candidates who get the most votes will become a leader for their party, also known as a Member of Parliament. The party with the most MPs gets to run the country and make important decisions for Aotearoa.
The next election day for Aotearoa will be held this year, on Saturday, 14 October.
