Plain politics, not safety fears, are root of opposition calls delay to New Zealand election | Claire Robinson

With access to information and the voting process remaining open, there is no reason to postpone the September poll because of Covid-19 outbreak

The reintroduction of lockdowns as a result of evidence of community transmission of Covid-19 in Auckland has New Zealand electoral politics in a bit of a tizz. The general election is due in only 38 days, overseas voting commences on 2 September and advance voting is scheduled to open three days later. On learning of the move to higher alert levels, most parties announced they were suspending their election campaigning, at least until midnight Friday or until the extent of the community transmission is understood.

With luck, the outbreak will be able to be quickly contained, and election campaigning can resume. But this cannot be taken for granted, and already there is speculation about whether the 19 September general election will have to be deferred. On Wednesday, National leader Judith Collins called on Jacinda Ardern move the vote to November on the grounds that it would not be possible to have a fair and free election in September. She said that with Auckland in level 3 lockdown and the rest of the country at level 2, it was unsustainable to expect a fair campaign. She said New Zealanders deserved better than to wonder if they can vote on election day.