Hapu are being given more time to nominate representatives to take a seat on the board that will negotiate a Treaty settlement for the country's biggest iwi.
There are 15 positions for subtribes on Tuhoronuku, and nominations have reopened after officially closing on 21 March.
Tuhoronuku interim chair Sonny Tau said some hapu had been waiting for the Crown to respond to requests to see the submissions on the mandate, before deciding if they would take part in the elections.
He said rather than getting in to a debate or argument about timeframes and hapu members being disenfranchised, Tuhoronuku would instead reopen the nomination process and extend it until 17 April.
Ngati Hine lawyer Willow-Jean Prime said re-opening nominations for hapu representatives to settle Ngapuhi's treaty claims would not solve core problems with the mandate.
