[WELLINGTON] Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern on Monday delayed New Zealand's looming election by four weeks to October 17 after a renewed coronavirus outbreak hampered campaigning.

"This decision gives all parties time over the next nine weeks to campaign and the Electoral Commission enough time to ensure an election can go ahead," she said.

New Zealand, whose original election date had been set for September 19, is battling a return of Covid-19 which last week forced the country's largest city Auckland into lockdown and ended 102 days without community transmission.

AFP