New Zealand has postponed its general election for four weeks over coronavirus concerns — despite only having 58 active cases in the community.
The country of 5 million people — which has been praised for its handling of the virus — went 102 days without any locally-transmitted cases, only to see a fresh outbreak last week.
The election had been scheduled for September 19, but on Monday, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced she was delaying it until October 17. This year, New Zealand will also be holding two referendums alongside its election: on legalizing euthanasia, and on legalizing cannabis for recreational use.
Several developed countries have gone ahead with their elections during the pandemic, including South Korea, which even saw its highest turn out in almost 30 years during its parliamentary election in April.
Why has the election been delayed? Ardern said she wanted to postpone voting to give the Electoral Commission time to prepare — and give parties time to campaign.
New Zealand’s most populous city, Auckland, is currently under lockdown, meaning any candidates based there would be unable to campaign as usual.
Most people within New Zealand must vote at specific locations, although they can apply to vote by mail. Voting opens two weeks before Election Day, so not everyone needs to vote on the same day.
Ardern said Monday that she wouldn’t change the election date again.
Will this help Ardern’s chance? According to polling, Ardern’s Labour Party is on track to win the election — and is well ahead of the main opposition National Party.
The delay will give her opponents more time to attempt to win support. But, if the polls are anything to go by, they have a lot of ground to make up.
Has there been any pushback? Not really. Other parties pushed for the election to be delayed, and following Ardern’s announcement, several parties welcomed the decision.
“The main thing is, we can’t have a fair election with no public meetings, two referenda being voted on, people not able to actually put their views on that without actually being able to have those public meetings,” said Judith Collins, leader of the National Party, in an interview with national broadcaster Radio New Zealand.