Prime Minister of New Zealand, Jacinda Ardern, has postponed elections scheduled to hold on September 19, over a fresh outbreak of the coronavirus in Auckland. The vote will now hold on October 17, 2020.  

“Ultimately I want to ensure we have a well-run election that gives all voters the best chance to receive all the information they need about parties and candidates and delivers certainty for the future,” Ardern said.

Opposition parties insist they have not been given a fair fighting chance as the COVID-19 pandemic has put a restriction on campaigns and have called for a longer extension. While the constitution of New Zealand allows for a postponement by two months, PM Ardern has pushed back on moving the elections beyond 4 weeks.

“COVID will be with us for some time to come. Continuously pushing out an election does not lessen the risk of disruption,”  She said.

Outlook for New Zealand

Ardern’s government has been widely praised for its response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Prior to this new outbreak, New Zealand had gone 102 days without reporting any new cases of COVID-19.

Ardern remains popular among voters and current polls show her party is on the way to victory at the polls with a 60.9% share of the vote according to Newshub-Reid Research Poll. The highest polling figure the Labor Party has ever had in political history. The main opposition party, National Party led by Judith Collins who called for a November Vote, has a 25% share of the vote while the Greens have 5.7%.

Next Steps

Members of parliament will reconvene on Monday and then dissolve on 6 September to give way for advance voting to begin on 3 October. New Zealanders will vote for a new government as well as vote in a referendum on whether the use of marijuana legalized, they will also decide whether they want Euthanasia legalized.