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WELLINGTON: New Zealanders went to the polls on Saturday (October 17) with Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern a surprising distance from re-election with an unprecedented outright majority after campaigning on her success in handling the COVID-19 pandemic. 19.
Ardern brought homemade cheese buns to the campaign volunteers on Saturday morning in Auckland and seemed relaxed as she awaited the results, to be announced later in the evening.
Opinion polls leading up to the elections put support for Ardern’s center-left Labor Party at 46 percent, 15 points ahead of major national opponents, but shortly before it could govern alone.
In the election campaign, Ardern has been greeted like a rock star by people who have crowded into shopping malls and spilled onto the streets to cheer her up and take selfies with her.
Its popularity skyrocketed earlier this year after Ardern, who called the vote “the choice of COVID,” led a successful effort to eradicate the coronavirus.
Currently, there is no community spread of the virus in the nation of 5 million people and people are no longer required to wear masks or social distancing.
“Who is best placed to keep New Zealand safe and who is best placed to move us towards recovery?” he asked repeatedly during the campaign.
Signs direct voters to an early voting booth in Christchurch, New Zealand, on Wednesday, Oct.14, 2020 (Photo: AP / Mark Baker).
Another theme has been “sticking together in times of uncertainty,” highlighting the leadership qualities of the 40-year-old charismatic, not only during the pandemic but in a series of crises during her three years in office.
These include the Christchurch mosque shootings in March last year, when a white supremacist gunman killed 51 Muslim worshipers, and the White Island volcanic eruption (also known as Whakaari) last December in which 21 people were killed. .
“No matter what crisis comes my way, you will always have the assurance that I will give my all for this job, even if it means a great sacrifice,” he said this week.
READ: New Zealand’s Ardern is still comfortably ahead on the eve of elections
COALITION AND COMMITMENT
No leader of any kind of political persuasion has achieved an absolute majority since New Zealand adopted a proportional voting system in 1996, leading to a succession of multi-party governments.
If polls showing support for Labor in their 40s and 40s are accurate, the backing of Ardern’s current coalition partner, the Greens, would get her through comfortably.
However, they can demand a more progressive agenda in exchange for keeping Ardern in power, after a first term when he failed to deliver on some key promises, such as improving housing affordability and fighting child poverty.
Judith Collins, the militant leader of the center-right National Party, has focused on the specter of the Greens forcing Ardern to adopt a wealth tax aimed squarely at New Zealand’s aspirational middle class.
Collins, 61, drew a rare flash of anger from Ardern with the claims in a televised debate this week.
“I’ve been absolutely clear on this multiple times, it’s a desperate and downright sad tactic,” Ardern said of the estate tax claim, also calling Collins a liar.
The National Party Judith Collins is known as ‘Crusher’ for her hard-line policies when she was a police minister in a previous government AFP / Marty MELVILLE
The conservative leader, known as “Crusher” for her hard-line policies when she was a police minister in a previous government, was undaunted and said National was in the best position to lead New Zealand through a recession induced by COVID-19.
“I bring real business experience at a time of serious economic situation in which we are moving now, and the ability to make decisions,” he said.
READ: Comment: Jacinda Ardern’s transformation is almost complete
DELAY IN COVID-19 ELECTIONS
About 3.5 million people are registered to vote, and 1.7 million, or almost half, cast their votes early, a much higher number than in previous elections.
The vote was originally set for September 19, but was delayed by a virus outbreak in Auckland that has now been contained.
Collins, who took over from National in July after a period of turmoil when the party had three leaders in three months, said the false start had cost him the momentum of his campaign.
National is posting 31 percent, which would be the party’s worst electoral performance in 18 years.
Polls had Labor as high as 61 percent in July, but even if the most recent 46 percent turns out correct, it would still be a 33-year high for the party.
New Zealand has strict Election Day laws that do not allow exit boxes during voting, which starts at 9am (4am Singapore time) and ends at 7pm (2pm Singapore time). Singapore).
New Zealand will vote on legalizing marijuana and euthanasia on October 17, 2020 (Photo: AP).
Under the country’s rules, the media are extremely limited in what they can report during the day, with election announcements similarly restricted, to prevent voters from being swayed.
However, a firm indication of the result is expected within about three hours after polls close.
Voters also voted in two referendums, one on the legalization of recreational cannabis and the other on the legalization of euthanasia, although the results of those votes will not be known until October 30.
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