Hone Harawira appears unconcerned he could return to Parliament as an independent MP should his Mana party's registration not be approved in time for the Te Tai Tokerau by-election.
Mr Harawira resigned from Parliament this week to force the by-election, which he said would give him a mandate in the electorate as leader of the new Mana Party if he won.
He was voted in as the MP for Te Tai Tokerau while still a member of the Maori Party, which he quit in February over its relationship with the Government.
The registration for Mr Harawira's Mana party was filed yesterday afternoon, but the Electoral Commission said it usually takes between six to eight weeks to process an application.
Before registering a party, the commission must be satisfied the party has at least 500 current paid-up members, and that the party's name meets statutory requirements.
The usual six to eight weeks' processing time allows for the commission to check evidence of party membership, before giving the public an opportunity to make submissions on the party name.
That means Mana might not be registered before the Te Tai Tokerau by-election, which will take place on June 25.
However, the issue does not appear to be worrying Mr Harawira.
"Given that the by-election is effectively an election of candidates, there isn't a party vote there's just a candidate vote," he told Radio New Zealand.
"I think the whole country knows that I'm the leader of the Mana movement, if there's a technicality holding that up for a few days I'm not particularly fussed about that."
Mr Harawira said he was not overly concerned he would not receive extra money for not being voted in as a party leader.
"Could make it difficult for the party, but it doesn't change the basic premise that I am no longer a member of the Maori Party. I'm the leader of the Mana movement and the people of the Tai Tokerau have the right to make the decision about who represents them."
Other parties have criticised Mr Harawira for forcing the by-election, saying the move is a political stunt that will cost the taxpayer up to $500,000. The person elected in the by-election will only be in Parliament 21 days before the general election on November 26.
Mr Harawira said the fuss over the by-election cost was overblown.
"A hundred percent of the parliamentarians in this country made a decision that anybody can have a by-election more than six months out from the election. I'm playing by the rules."
The writ for the by-election, which sets out key election dates, will be issued on May 25. Candidate nominations will close on May 31 and the date the writ must be returned showing the successful candidates is set down for July 14.
