New Zealand attorney general warns her government’s electoral reform could breach human rights law | New Zealand
New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon advocated his government’s plans to overcome the election laws, despite the warnings of his own prosecutor’s office, although the changes could violate the Human Rights Law and deprived more than 100,000 voters’ rights.
Last week, the right wing government, 13 days before the election day before the voter registration, the prisoner to revive the prohibition of voting, and a voting station within 100 meters to provide free food, drinks or entertainment, including the “outdated and maintained” announced the election laws.
Since 1993, voters have been allowed to vote for the so -called “special vote de on the two -week advance period and more recently on the election day.
Luxon said to Rnz on Monday, led to weeks of delays in the counting of the votes.
“We want everyone to join our democracy… But we should make sure that people are registered before the vote,” he said.
But a Report to ParliamentThe Chief Public Prosecutor Judith Collins warned that he seems to be “inconsistent ıyla with the right of rights, including the right to voting and the right to freedom of expression.
In the 2023 general elections, Collins said that 97,000 people who registered for the first time in the voting period and more than 200,000 special votes, including approximately 134,000 people who changed the election zones during the voting period.
“This is an indication of the number of people who can be affected, and the more the last date of the registration is, the greater the impact of deprived of the right,” Collins said.
He said that changing the date of registration a to seven days before the polls day will “bring less laborious limits to the right to vote”.
Collins said that it is more likely to come from young people and regions with larger Māori, Asia and Pacific communities, and that these communities may be more affected by the proposed registration date.
Regarding the blanket ban on the prisoner vote, Collins said he would deprive people who have the right to vote and may not be justified ”.
Luxon said that the Chief Public Prosecutor had a legal obligation to examine whether the legislation would be contrary to the Rights Law and that the government would take this advice.
Collins rejected Guardian’s request for more comments.
The proposed changes took fire from the opposition parties who believe that the government weakened democracy.
“As a country, we must encourage voter participation and make changes to support it – not to close them, Dun
“This is a terrible change that will make it difficult for many people to exercise their democratic rights.”
