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New Zealanders head to the polls today in a general election that could see Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern strengthen her center-left position in government or the socially conservative Judith Collins installed after just three months as leader of the opposition.
Labor party leader Ardern and National party chief Collins are the faces of the election to form the country’s 53rd parliament, in essence a pandemic-focused referendum on Ardern’s three-year term.
The doors of the polls opened at 9 a.m., although a record number of voters, more than 1.7 million, cast their votes in advance, representing almost half of the approximately 3.5 million New Zealanders in the electoral rolls.
There are restrictions on what the media can report on the race until the polls close at 7pm, and politicians have had to cease all campaigns, including the removal of posters and television and radio advertisements. The rule is designed to limit undue influence on the crucial day and allow voters to cast their vote in peace.
In a surprise move, the election commission politely reprimanded a British MP via Twitter on Saturday morning, reminding Angela Eagle of Wallasey that it was against New Zealand law to post anything on social media promoting parties. or candidates on the day of the vote. Eagle’s tweet was later deleted.
Nor is the conduct or publication of exit polls allowed. Ardern spent the day handing out cheese buns to volunteers, while Collins kept a low profile. Voters traditionally embrace silence by posting photos of their dogs at polling stations.
Jessica halliday
(@jh_arch)Luna says don’t forget to vote! #DogsAtPollingStations # NZElection2020 pic.twitter.com/MH6lWP5HSX
At 7:00 p.m., the Electoral Commission will begin to publish preliminary results, with the aim of counting 50% of the votes at 10:00 p.m. and 100% at 11:30 p.m. It is believed that the results could appear quickly this year, as many early votes have been cast.
Special votes, including ballots for New Zealanders abroad and those voting outside of their constituencies, will not be released until November 6.
New Zealanders are also voting in referenda to legalize euthanasia and recreational marijuana. This latest vote could make New Zealand the third country in the world to allow the use and sale of cannabis by adults across the country, after Uruguay and Canada.
The results of the referendums will be announced on October 30.
Sinead Boucher
(@sineadboucher)Election day was going well for Rizzo until a starling jumped out and terrified her. #DogsAtPollingStations #dogs pic.twitter.com/XcrUbXmblr
New Zealand switched to a mixed proportional electoral system in 1996 in which a party or coalition needs 61 of the 120 seats in Parliament, usually around 48% of the vote, to form a government.
This means that minority parties often play an influential role in determining which main party rules.
The 2020 election is one of the strangest New Zealand has seen and has been described as “strange”, “strange” and “strange” by seasoned political observers. Voting was delayed a month after a Covid-19 outbreak in Auckland, and many have described feeling weary from the long campaign period, in addition to what has already been a difficult year.
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