Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has announced the election will be delayed by four weeks to ensure a “safe, accessible and credible election”.

The new election date is October 17, in nine weeks’ time. Advance voting will begin on October 3.

The PM said the date will not be changed again, regardless of any other COVID-19 developments.

“Moving an election date, especially this late in the election cycle, is a significant decision,” she said.

The PM said she canvassed other political parties and sought Electoral Commission advice before making the decision. Other parties agreed on the need for certainty, she said.

Factors taken into consideration included the safe participation of voters, including vulnerable communities, the ability to hold a fair election, providing certainty, and for the election to be held in a timely way.

Options included retaining the current date of September 19, moving it by four weeks, or holding it on November 21 - the latest possible date.

“It is clear that the emergence of COVID at the beginning of the campaign has been cause for concern,” she said, adding there is no suggestion that New Zealand will be in these elevated alert levels at the election.

The PM also announced that Parliament would reconvene tomorrow (Tuesday August 18) so that parliament can consider and scrutinise the government’s decisions.

PHOTO: Supplied