Six people have put their hands up for the vacant seat on the council.
The by-election for the Gore ward follows the resignation of long-standing councillor Brett Highsted.
The candidates are: Alan Byrne, Steven Hamlin, Andy Fraser, Brendon Burgess, Liz Adams-Gray and Reuben Turipa.
Mr Byrne was on the Mataura Licensing Trust board for nearly 20 years but was forced out in 2019 when it was discovered he was not a New Zealand citizen. He stood unsuccessfully for the board last year, losing by 29 votes.
Mr Turipa and Ms Adams-Gray both stood unsuccessfully for the council last year.
The by-election will be conducted by postal voting using the first-past-the-post electoral system.
Voting opens on June 21 and closes at noon on July 13.
The council has been through plenty of drama since the local body election last October, which led to the election of Ben Bell as mayor, who took over from the long-standing Tracy Hicks.
Mr Bell has had a rollercoaster ride, which culminated in a motion issued by seven councillors earlier this month to seek his resignation as mayor.
But after some discussions before an extraordinary council meeting on Tuesday, the motion lapsed and Mr Bell remains as mayor.
The council did vote at the meeting to seek advice from Local Government New Zealand to undertake a review, which ultimately should help restore confidence in the council.
