Wellington: New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced on Monday to postpone the general elections in Auckland for four weeks in the wake of new cases of coronavirus. Elections were to be held on 19 September in the country, which will now be held on 17 October. Under New Zealand law, Ardern has the right to postpone elections for two months. In Auckland, opposition parties were also constantly urging to postpone elections in view of the new cases of Covid-19.
Covid-19 cases have been reported once again in New Zealand last week, for 102 days before there were no new cases of the virus. There are currently 49 cases of infection in Auckland. Ardern called representatives of all parties of Parliament for discussion before adjourning the election. He said, “Ultimately I want to make sure that we have a smooth election system that gives voters the best chance to get information about all parties and candidates….” According to the opinion poll, Ardern’s Labor Party may come to power once again.
