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Wellington [New Zealand]January 21 (ANI): Chris Hipkins will succeed Jacinda Ardern as Labor leader and Prime Minister of New Zealand from Jacinda Ardern, the Labor Party said in a statement. The only candidate nominated for the position.
Chris Hipkins is the sole candidate for Labor leadership, Labor whip Duncan Webb announced on Saturday, New Zealand public broadcaster RNZ reported.
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“The Labor caucus will meet at 1pm on Sunday to approve the nomination and confirm Chris Hipkins as leader,” Duncan Webb said.
Hipkins was first elected to parliament in 2008 and was appointed minister for Covid-19 in November 2020.
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He is currently Minister of Police, Education and Human Services.
Jacinda Ardern’s surprise resignation sparked a Labor leadership contest.
Ardern has made a shocking decision after leading New Zealand through the coronavirus pandemic for five-and-a-half years.
Ardern said she knew what the prime minister’s job took and believed she was “no longer competent enough to do it justice”, but some colleagues could.
She said her government had achieved a lot and she quit not because she didn’t believe Labor could win the next election, but because she thought it could.
In an interview with the media, Ardern said that she wanted to resign without a particular “angle” or “real reason”, just because she was “human”.
“To Neve, Mom looks forward to having you at the start of school next year. To Clarke, we’re finally married.”
Nominations for the positions of leader and prime minister must be received by 9am (local time) today, RNZ reported.
Nominations require the backing of at least 10 percent of the caucus — seven MPs — excluding Hipkins.
It was the party’s first such vote since 2017.
Hipkins still needs to be formally endorsed by the caucus at a meeting on Sunday, RNZ reported. (Arnie)
(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from a Syndicated News feed, the content body may not have been modified or edited by LatestLY staff)
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