Global EditionASIA 中文双语Français
World
Home / World / Asia-Pacific

New Zealand election to be delayed to Oct 17 due to COVID-19

Xinhua | Updated: 2020-08-17 09:24
Share
Share - WeChat
New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern [Photo/Agencies]

WELLINGTON - New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern confirmed on Monday that the general election will be held on Oct 17, four weeks after Sept 19 when the poll was originally scheduled for.

"The Electoral Commission, via the Ministry of Justice, has advised me that a safe and accessible election is achievable on this date," Ardern told a press conference.

This short delay gives the commission more time to prepare including freeing up facilities for early voting during school holidays, she said.

Moving the date by four weeks also gives all parties a fair shot to campaign and delivers New Zealanders certainty without unnecessarily long delays, Ardern said.

"With the re-emergence of COVID-19 in our community these are not ordinary times and so while the decision as to the election date sits with me, I spoke with all party leaders to seek their views," she said.

"COVID-19 will be with us for some time to come. Continuously pushing out an election does not lessen the risk of disruption," the prime minister said, adding she would not change the election date again.

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, Ardern said.

Advance voting begins on Oct 3, she added.

Most Viewed in 24 Hours
Top
BACK TO THE TOP
English
Copyright 1995 - . All rights reserved. The content (including but not limited to text, photo, multimedia information, etc) published in this site belongs to China Daily Information Co (CDIC). Without written authorization from CDIC, such content shall not be republished or used in any form. Note: Browsers with 1024*768 or higher resolution are suggested for this site.
License for publishing multimedia online 0108263

Registration Number: 130349
FOLLOW US