New Zealand - Election - 2020
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern on 17 August 2020 delayed New Zealand's looming election by four weeks to October 17 after a renewed coronavirus outbreak hampered campaigning. New Zealand, whose original election date had been set for September 19, is battling a return of Covid-19 which last week forced the country's largest city Auckland into lockdown and ended 102 days without community transmission.
New Zealand's Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern will seek a second term in office when the country heads to the polls. She announced that a general election will be held on 19 September 2020. Voters will also weigh in on whether to legalize euthanasia and marijuana in a pair of referenda on election day.
The House will rise on Thursday, 6 August and Parliament will be dissolved on Wednesday, 12 August. Writ day will follow on Sunday, 16 August, and nominations will close at noon on Friday, 21 August. Advance voting will start on Monday 7 September. Subject to the passage of the Electoral Amendment Bill currently before the House, the last day for the return of the writ will be Thursday, 15 October.
"This election, I will be asking New Zealanders to continue to support my leadership and the current direction of the government, which is grounded in stability, a strong economy and progress on the long term challenges facing New Zealand," Ardern said.
Ardern led a coalition in the country's 120-seat parliament. Her leadership was praised worldwide when the government introduced strict gun control after 51 people were killed in a mass shooting in Christchurch. She is also the world's first sitting prime minister to take maternity leave. Ardern is expected to face a tough challenge from the opposition as the government struggles to boost the economy.
She said for politicians, a three-year term meant "we are always in campaign mode anyway".
"This year we intend to govern right up until the election is held which I can advise will be on 19 September." She said Labour was asking for a further term to "keep getting the job done".
"We are running an established and effective MMP government and overseeing a strong economy with low unemployment and growth rates that others look to with envy." Ardern re-iterated that Labour's intention was to deliver a "positive and factual election campaign. ... The Labour Party signed up to Facebook's new transparency rules. I stand by these actions as prime minister and as the leader of the Labour Party."
The Greens highlighted issues with the climate, housing and inequality in their tradional "State of the Planet" speech. Co-leader Marama Davidson gave the party's speech today and took the opportunity to announce she will once again be seeking nomination for the Tamaki Makaurau electorate in this years election.
Davidson took a stock take of the Greens' first two years in government. "We've done so much, including banning new offshore oil and gas permits, delivering a blueprint for a kinder and stronger social safety net, and passing the Zero Carbon Act," she said. However, she stressed the work that was happening in Parliament needed to go further and faster. "I look forward to the day when humans stop thinking we can be the boss of our big mama, and just love her the way we are supposed to," she said.
She highlighted the indigenous peoples roles in protecting the environment. "Indigenous peoples expertise, knowledge and most importantly leadership is critical in protecting our climate, solving inequality and caring for our planet." But she did note that other people may have more pressing problems they instead needed to deal with, particularly with housing.
There was serious pressure to push out the election date, starting with slowing the next steps taken to end the parliamentary term and trigger an election. It's in the hands of the prime minister for now but other parties say it wouldn't be a fair race. According to Ardern the latest it could be held is 21 November.
The vote this year will look a bit different this year as the Electoral Commission prepares for any eventuality for the election - including a possible Covid-19 outbreak. The commission is working closely with the Ministry of Health in the event of a national or regional outbreak, and potentially having to push out the election date if voting cannot be done safely. There will be more booths around the country for both advance voting and on the day - people are being encouraged to enrol early and bring their own pens where possible.
Larger venues like halls, schools and marae will be used - and for the first time, a mosque, in Wellington - so physical distancing can be introduced if necessary. In another first, there will be a booth in a marae in Huntley where te reo Maori is the primary language. In the last election, people could vote at some supermarkets but that will not happen this time because they are not seen as a suitable place if voting has to be done under lockdown conditions.oting this year will look a bit different this year as the Electoral Commission prepares for any eventuality for the election - including a possible Covid-19 outbreak.
The commission is working closely with the Ministry of Health in the event of a national or regional outbreak, and potentially having to push out the election date if voting cannot be done safely. There will be more booths around the country for both advance voting and on the day - people are being encouraged to enrol early and bring their own pens where possible. The arrangements in place at the moment would allow voting to occur under alert level 2.
For the first time people will be able to enrol and vote on election day. About 19,000 people didn't have their votes counted in the 2017 election because they had not enrolled by the deadline of midnight before election day. The commission expects up to 60 percent of eligible voters will cast their ballot before election day. After a recent law change, prisoners convicted of a sentence of less than three years can vote at this election.
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