Amid new coronavirus cases, New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced the country's elections would be postponed by one month. The nation's general elections were scheduled for September 19 but were delayed to October 17 after several cases of COVID-19 infections surfaced.
Delayed elections
On Monday, the prime minister said that the new scheduled date would allow politicians to prepare their plans around new circumstances they will be campaigning under.
According to BBC, after more than 100 days of being coronavirus free, New Zealand went back into lockdown after recording new coronavirus cases.
Ardern said that additional time gives all parties the time they need to campaign and gives the Electoral Commission enough time to ensure that the elections go smoothly. The official added she had no intention of allowing more delays to affect the country's elections.
The opposition National Party has recommended that the elections be delayed, arguing that Ardern had an unfair advantage due to campaigning restrictions. Officials implemented restrictions on Auckland on Wednesday after several new infections were discovered within the area.
On Monday, New Zealand recorded nine new coronavirus cases and brought the total number of active infections in Auckland's region to 58. One family was believed to have been the original source of the disease. Still, Ardern revealed that an investigation found an earlier incident that involved a sick shop worker on July 31 could have been the cause.
One health official who was acquainted with the family said they were in shock of the situation and were quite embarrassed it happened to them.
The announcement of new coronavirus cases within the country took its citizens by surprise after the nation continued to be COVID-19 free for more than three months and began reopening its economy and returning to normal lifestyles.
In a statement, Ardern said the delay of the elections was an inevitable outcome. The prime minister said the coronavirus is the world's new normal and that New Zealand is working as one to ensure that the health crisis affects citizens' daily lives as little as possible, as reported by CNN.
Prepared for the worst
In a statement, Chief Electoral Officer Alicia Wright said the confirmation of the date reassures citizens of when the elections will be held and that they will, indeed, continue to be held. She added authorities have been discussing alternative dates and are confident the change would be made accordingly and adequately.
The commission revealed it had already planned for the elections to be held under Alert Level 2 restrictions and includes proposed measures such as contact tracing, provision of sanitary equipment, and social distancing guidelines and protocols.
According to The New York Times, Prime Minister Ardern's approval ratings shot up after her swift and effective response to the coronavirus pandemic in its early stages. Health officials considered the country's first lockdown in late March to eliminate the virus and prompted the reopening of the country's economy and establishments.
However, the official now faces criticism over the surge of new cases and the possibility of extended lockdown restrictions. A politics professor, Richard Shaw, of Massey University, said that if there was significant oversight in the processes, it could have substantial impacts on the nation's perspective of Ardern.
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