Jacinda Ardern orders delay in New Zealand poll as new Covid-19 cases reported
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Wellington — New Zealand’s prime minister postponed the country’s general election on Monday by a month to October 17 as the city of Auckland remains in lockdown due to a growing coronavirus outbreak.
Jacinda Ardern bowed to pressure to delay the polls after parties complained they could not campaign with nearly a third of New Zealand’s five-million people under lockdown in Auckland.
“Ultimately, October 17 ... provides sufficient time for parties to plan around the range of circumstances we will be campaigning under,” Ardern said at a news conference.
The prime minister ruled out delaying the polls any further, as her Labour Party maintains a strong lead over the conservative National Party in opinion polls.
“We are all in the same boat. We are all campaigning in the same environment,” Ardern said.
On Monday, New Zealand recorded nine new cases of Covid-19, taking the number of active cases to 78. There have now been a total of 1,280 cases in the country, and 22 deaths.
An earlier election would have worked in Ardern's favour, as her success in stifling Covid-19 and keeping the country virus-free for 102 days until the latest outbreak had boosted her popularity.
The election was scheduled for September 19 and New Zealand law requires it to be held by November 21. Advance voting will now start on October 3.
Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters, who had called for a delay, said “common sense has prevailed”.
The leader of the populist New Zealand First party delivered government to Labour through a coalition deal after no party won a majority at the 2017 election.
The Election Commission said it was ready to hold a vote with health measures including hand sanitiser and physical distancing in voting centres, protective gear for staff and contact-tracing systems.
“These are challenging times for everyone, but we will have measures in place so that people can vote in person at a voting place this October,” chief electoral officer Alicia Wright said.
Border failure?
Ardern's opponents accuse her of using the pandemic to shore up support as she appears on television nearly every day to reassure New Zealanders, while other party leaders struggle to get attention.
Her rivals are hoping Ardern loses some of her appeal once economic hardships caused by the lockdown begin to bite.
New Zealand has fared far better than most countries during the pandemic but an abrupt resurgence of Covid-19 ...
Jacinda Ardern bowed to pressure to delay the polls after parties complained they could not campaign with nearly a third of New Zealand’s five-million people under lockdown in Auckland.
“Ultimately, October 17 ... provides sufficient time for parties to plan around the range of circumstances we will be campaigning under,” Ardern said at a news conference.
The prime minister ruled out delaying the polls any further, as her Labour Party maintains a strong lead over the conservative National Party in opinion polls.
“We are all in the same boat. We are all campaigning in the same environment,” Ardern said.
On Monday, New Zealand recorded nine new cases of Covid-19, taking the number of active cases to 78. There have now been a total of 1,280 cases in the country, and 22 deaths.
An earlier election would have worked in Ardern's favour, as her success in stifling Covid-19 and keeping the country virus-free for 102 days until the latest outbreak had boosted her popularity.
The election was scheduled for September 19 and New Zealand law requires it to be held by November 21. Advance voting will now start on October 3.
Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters, who had called for a delay, said “common sense has prevailed”.
The leader of the populist New Zealand First party delivered government to Labour through a coalition deal after no party won a majority at the 2017 election.
The Election Commission said it was ready to hold a vote with health measures including hand sanitiser and physical distancing in voting centres, protective gear for staff and contact-tracing systems.
“These are challenging times for everyone, but we will have measures in place so that people can vote in person at a voting place this October,” chief electoral officer Alicia Wright said.
Border failure?
Ardern's opponents accuse her of using the pandemic to shore up support as she appears on television nearly every day to reassure New Zealanders, while other party leaders struggle to get attention.
Her rivals are hoping Ardern loses some of her appeal once economic hardships caused by the lockdown begin to bite.
New Zealand has fared far better than most countries during the pandemic but an abrupt resurgence of Covid-19 ...
