New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Adern postponed the country's election by a month due to new coronavirus outbreaks

Reuters

• New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Adern postponed the country's general election until mid-October in response to new coronavirus outbreaks.
• "Ultimately, the 17th of October ... provides sufficient time for parties to plan around the range of circumstances we will be campaigning under," Ardern said at a news conference.
• The election was scheduled for Sept. 19 and New Zealand law requires it to be held by Nov. 21. Advance voting will now start on Oct. 3.
• New Zealand has fared far better than most countries during the pandemic. But an abrupt resurgence of COVID-19 last week in Auckland prompted a second lockdown. There are 69 active cases in the country as a whole.
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

WELLINGTON (Reuters) - New Zealand's prime minister postponed the country's general election on Monday by a month to Oct. 17 as the city of Auckland remains in lockdown due to a new outbreak of the coronavirus.

Jacinda Ardern has been under pressure to put off the polls as political parties said it was impossible to campaign in a way that would ensure a free and fair election.

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