The Electoral Commission has selected three mosques around the country as advance polling stations for the upcoming Elections in October this year.
Linwood Mosque in Christchurch, Kilbirnie Mosque or Wellington Islamic Centre in Wellington and Al Huda Mosque in Dunedin will be used as polling booths for different electorates.
This is the first time ever that a mosque or mosques will be used as polling venues in New Zealand.
Al Huda Mosque in Dunedin on 28 March 2019 (Picture courtesy: Wikimedia)
The Wellington Islamic Centre under Rongotai electorate will be open from Friday, October 9 through to election day, Al Huda Mosque under Dunedin electorate will be available for polling from Friday, October 9 to Friday, October 16, and the Linwood Islamic Centre under Christchurch East electorate will open only on election day, Saturday, October 17.
The Electoral Commission is also using the Muslim Community Centre in Timaru as a voting place for Rangitata electorate which will be open on Saturday, October 10 and Sunday, October 11.
A spokesperson from Electoral Commission told The Indian Weekender that the intention behind selecting the mosques as polling stations is to fully reflect New Zealand’s ethnic and cultural diversity, especially since places of faith, such as church halls have been used as polling booths in the past.
Speaking to the Indian Weekender, Tahir Nawaz of Islamic Muslim Association of New Zealand (IMAN) and Kilbirnie Mosque based in Wellington said it’s a huge positive gesture from Electoral Commission to choose mosques as polling stations. '
Tahir Nawaz of Kilbirnie Islamic Centre in Wellington (Picture: Supplied)
“Choosing mosque as a venue for something as important like election booth makes the community feel a strong part of the fabric of this country and we would be more thrilled,” Mr Nawaz said.
A separate hall space adjacent to the praying will be provided for polling purposes along with inventories such as table, chairs etc. if required by the guests.
“Our country has just come out of a massive incident a year and a half ago, and sentencing of the terrorist just less than a week ago, and it is our privilege to open our doors for this important pillar of democracy, and it will also give a chance to the wider community to come and see a mosque and its activities,” Mr Nawaz added.
The Linwood Islamic Centre where eight worshippers were killed on March 15, 2019, terrorist attack has been chosen as another venue for people to come and cast their vote. Electoral Commission had also approached the Al Noor Mosque on Deans Avenue in Christchurch, but it had been reserved for another event during the election period.
“We have had very positive feedback from the community about the selection of Linwood mosque, amongst other four Islamic centres in New Zealand for polling purposes.
“We are honoured, and it’s our privilege to offer our mosque premises as a polling station for people to come from the nearby suburbs and cast their vote,” Ahmed Jahangir, chairperson of Linwood Islamic Centre told The Indian Weekender.
Linwood Islamic Centre on Linwood Avenue in Christchurch (Image Courtesy: Wikimeida)
Mr Jahangir was one of the victims of the March 15 mosque attack and suffered bullet grievous injuries to his right arm to the extent that his arm has lost his arm permanently.
“Offering our Islamic Centre as a venue for polling also opens doors for the wider community to come and visit our mosque, and it makes multi-ethnic ties with the community much stronger,” Mr Jahangir added.
Earlier in August, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern moved the election date from September 19 to October 17 along with the End of Life Choice and cannabis referendums due to resurgence of Covid-19 in the community in August.
Advance polling for this year’s General Election will start from 7 p.m. Saturday, October 3, till election day, Saturday, October 17 and people can vote from overseas from Wednesday, September 30.
Ahmed Jahangir, chairperson of Linwood Islamic Centre, Christchurch (IWK Image)
To conduct the general election amid Covid-19 in the community, the Electoral Commission has put allocated more places around the country to reduce long queues and cast their vote with ease, physical distancing.
The spokesperson from Electoral Commission said they would have in place a range of COVID-19 measures at all voting places to help keep voters safe.
“Measures will include making hand sanitiser available on the way in and out of voting places, managing queues and allowing more room for physical distancing inside voting places.
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“The Commission is also aiming to have more voting places and bigger venues (such as school and community halls and marae), along with longer voting hours, to help minimise queues and ensure physical distancing.
The Electoral Commission is expecting to have about 750 advance voting places open when voting starts on Saturday, October 3– 50 per cent more than during the 2017 election. This number will expectedly double to 1,500 voting places on the weekend before election day (Saturday 10 and Sunday, October 11). On election day itself, there should be about 2,500 voting places open.
The Commission is encouraging voters to bring their own pen to mark voting papers, although there will be pens available for those who forget.
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