:strip_icc()/i.s3.glbimg.com/v1/AUTH_59edd422c0c84a879bd37670ae4f538a/internal_photos/bs/2020/A/d/pqjcuOQf6JnjZdVj9AJg/2020-10-17t100005z-476236535-rc2akj9wz4rg-rtrmadp-3-newzealand-election-ardern-reax.jpg)
[ad_1]
New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern was re-elected this Saturday (17). With almost 90% of the polls counted, Ardern (Labor Party) defeated her opponent Judith Collins, leader of the National Party.
“Today New Zealand has shown that the Labor Party has its strongest support,” Ardern said in his victory speech. “And I can promise you one thing: we will be a governing party for every New Zealander.”
- Meet Jacinda Ardern, Prime Minister of New Zealand
The work registered around 49% of the total votes, almost double the second most voted (National). This is already the highest support a party has obtained in elections in the country since 1996, when the current proportional voting system was implemented.
New Zealand’s proportional voting system means that parties generally must form alliances to govern. The country is part of the British Commonwealth, called the Commonwealth, and is a constitutional monarchy with Queen Elizabeth II as sovereign.
Jacinda Ardern vote – Photo: Reuters
Ardern’s popularity among New Zealanders has been greatly increased by the way it has dealt with the coronavirus pandemic, with the country being one of the least affected by the spread of the coronavirus and declaring itself free of the disease.
- Coronavirus: Why are countries led by women standing out in the fight against the pandemic?
New Zealand went up to 102 days without any community transmission, before registering a second wave. At the beginning of October it was again declared free of contamination, after 12 days without new records.
New Zealand Prime Minister Says Country Won Covid-19 Again
In addition to votes for members of parliament, New Zealanders are also responding to two referenda this Saturday.
One of them deals with the legalization of euthanasia (and assisted suicide) in some circumstances, looking at terminally ill people, who are likely to die within six months, and who are experiencing “unbearable” suffering. If passed, it becomes law.
The other issue to be voted on is the legalization of marijuana, which allows people to buy up to 14 grams a day and grow two plants. In this case, however, if the majority votes in favor, the legislators still have to draft the corresponding legislation.
