Ashraf Choudhary - Entrance Into New Zealand Politics

Entrance Into New Zealand Politics

Having been a supporter of the Labour Party for some time, Choudhary was elected to Parliament as a Labour Party list MP in the 2002 elections. He was sworn in on the Qur'an, something which Winston Peters (leader of the New Zealand First party) criticised as a breach of proper procedure. The rules, however, contained no prohibition against it, allowing the taker of the oath to specify any religious text they wished (or, alternatively, use none at all). Because Parliamentary officials did not have a copy of the Qur'an, they obtained a copy from the FIANZ office, which was then donated to the Parliamentary Library for use in the future.

Since entering Parliament, Choudhary has served on the Primary Production, Local Government and Environment, and Education and Science select committees. He also came to public attention in 2003, when he abstained in a vote to legalise prostitution. The Muslim community were upset by his decision to abstain from voting since prostitution is seen as a violation of their faith.