August 12, 2020
National calls for timeout as polls show rout
The National Party is calling for the election to be delayed as the country waits to find out the extent of a community outbreak of COVID-19.
Parties have suspended their campaigns as the country goes back into partial lockdown.
National’s deputy leader Gerry Brownlee yesterday questioned the timing of the outbreak and said New Zealanders are wondering what do the health authorities know that they are not fully explaining.
Commentator Ward Kamo, a member of Kahurangi Blue and the husband of National list MP and Mangere candidate Agnes Loheni, says the party had to cancel Sunday’s campaign launch at the Vodafone Events Centre in Manukau.
"Quite how you run an election where parties aren't given a fair and equitable chance to make their case to the people of New Zealand is beyond me. I think it is only appropriate the Prime Minister look to delay to November 21, I think it's the latest she can run without needing to go back to parliament, and if that is looking a bit out of order I would suggest parliament be reconvened next week to agree to a future date and a future way an election can be fairly run," he says.
Ward Kamo says that could include postal voting or extended voting.
A UMR poll conducted before the latest outbreak and sent to corporate clients this week put Labour at 52 per cent to National’s 28 per cent, with the other three parliamentary parties all getting over the 5 per cent threshold.
Based on those figures Labour would have 65 seats and could govern alone.
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