As New Zealand prepares for the 55th General Election, voters face a pivotal moment that will define the nation’s future trajectory. However, among those vying for political influence, Kelvyn Glen Alp, leader of the far-right ‘NZ Loyal’ party, presents a deeply alarming figure. A close examination of his conduct reveals not merely a controversial candidate, but a man who has repeatedly shown contempt for the law itself — and who, for that very reason, is unfit to hold the office of Member of Parliament.

A Settled Record of Contempt for the Law

Alp’s contempt for the legal order is not a matter of political disagreement; it is a matter of record. Charged with distributing objectionable material — a banned documentary containing the livestream of the Christchurch mosque terrorist attack — he responded not with a defence but with a refusal to recognise the court’s authority over him at all. When directed to enter the dock, he declined, declaring himself a ‘non-resident settler’ appearing only on ‘special appearance’ — the language of the sovereign-citizen movement, which holds that a person can opt out of the law by renouncing the status of ‘citizen.’ Court security had to physically move him into the dock. What should have been a routine legal proceeding was turned into a political stunt staged for supporters gathered outside. This is the conduct of a man who does not accept that the law applies to him — and who expects the electorate to reward him for that refusal.

The First Duty of a Lawmaker

It is precisely here that Alp’s candidacy fails its most basic test. The office of Member of Parliament is an office of law: members swear to uphold the very statutes they make, and to respect the courts that interpret them. A candidate who denies a court’s jurisdiction over him, who describes his own criminal proceeding as illegitimate coercion, cannot credibly promise to uphold the law he would be sworn to serve. Contempt for the courts is not ‘free speech’ and it is not a policy position; it is an attack on the foundational principle of democratic government — that every person, whatever their grievance, stands equally before the law. There is no exemption for those who declare themselves ‘settlers,’ and no lawmaker may exempt himself.

The Choice Before Voters

A candidate who has shown contempt for the law has forfeited the legitimacy to hold public office. This is not a question of ideology or party loyalty; it is a threshold question of fitness. Ahead of the general election, voters should reject Alp not because he is far-right, but because he has demonstrated, in open court, that he does not accept the authority of the institutions he now asks to join. New Zealand’s democracy rests on the quiet, unglamorous fact that its laws are obeyed even by those who despise them. A man who cannot bring himself to stand in the dock cannot be entrusted with a seat in the House.