New Zealand’s Ardern Postpones Election as Country Tries to Eliminate COVID

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern during the All of Government COVID-19 national response update in Parliament in Wellington, New Zealand, on April 13, 2020. Mark Mitchelll-Pool/Getty Images

WELLINGTON—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 under government lockdown in another attempt to eliminate 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.