New Zealand prime minister Jacinda Ardern on Monday chose to delay the country’s national elections by four weeks as the country deals with a new coronavirus outbreak in its largest city, Auckland.
“This decision gives all parties time over the next nine weeks to campaign and the Electoral Commission enough time to ensure an election can go ahead,” Ms. Ardern said.
Ardern was under pressure from political opponents and her coalition partners to shift the original September 19 vote following the shock discovery of COVID-19 in Auckland last week, sending the country’s largest city into lockdown.
Before the latest outbreak, New Zealand had gone 102 days without any known community transmission of the virus, and life had returned to normal for most people, who were going to restaurants, sports stadiums and schools without fear of getting infected.
Ardern said that New Zealand’s Electoral Commission had assured her that a safe and accessible election would be possible on the new date.
“Ultimately I want to ensure we have a well-run election that gives all voters the best chance to receive all the information about parties and candidates and delivers certainty for the future,” she said.
On Monday nine news cases of Covid-19 were reported, bringing the total number of cases related to the south Auckland cluster to 58. Māori and Pasifika people have been disproportionately infected by the latest outbreak.
Five people were in hospital being treated for the disease, and the source of the outbreak remained a mystery, the ministry of health said.
There are four “alert levels” in New Zealand, and Auckland has been on Level 3 since the new measures were announced. The rest of the country is on Level 2.
Before the new cluster was identified, the government had lifted almost all of its lockdown restrictions, which were first imposed in March.
