New Zealand takes call on election during coronavirus pandemic

• Elections are due in September

News Desk

After South Korea, Poland its now New Zealand that has announced elections and amid coronavirus pandemic elections shall be held in September. In Poland it was on May 7 that postal ballots were approved for elections.

The elections were slated in September and now the government has decided to go ahead with the dates. New Zealand too had opted for lockdown to contain coronavirus spread. It was for seven weeks. Since the number of cases has reduced considerably hence there is relaxation in the lockdown.

The election commission of New Zealand on May 12 considered and announced few security measures that shall guide the elections in September. The government is keeping an eye upon the cases coming up.

The prime minister Jacinda Kate Laurell Ardern, had in January, announced the election dates. And she has announced several times that she does not intend to change date. The lockdown is scheduled to end in New Zealand in the coming days and keeping view the elections the election commission is also talking to health agencies on how to conduct elections.

The commission said the elections this year will be different due to COVID-19 and priority will also be to keep people safe. The chief election officer Alishia Rites said that these measures will include queue management, physical distancing, hand sanitizers with the ballot boxes and safety gears for the officials on duty at the polling stations. She said pre-ballot and postal ballot will also be given focus particularly for the elderly who have health issues.

Though these guidelines do not apply to public or door-to-door campaigns but probably they would also have an impact. The PM has said that she had not thought much about elections as she is still busy with the COVID-19 crisis.

Talking to media she said that if we talk of elections according to days, weeks and months the elections are at a life’s distance. She said you people can imagine that in such a time I can not think of election. In the opinion polls done before the coronavirus crisis Jacinda Ardern was little behind the Central-Labour Party Conservative National Party but with her alliance she was too close to victory.

A 39-year-old Ardern, has been applauded by countries across the world for containing infection spread. Till now 21 lives have been lost in a population of 50 lakh. Though there were no official polls released during the lockdown but according to the leaked research of the polling organization of the Labour Party the Ardern party has the lead.

In the research the labour got 55% and national got 29%. As a PM Ardern rating was 65%. Along with the elections two major surveys will also be done on legal status to cannabis and on euthanasia, this with the elections.