Winston Peters is going against the grain of early-voting party leaders and encouraging voters to wait until election day to cast their ballot.
Advance voting kicked off on October 3, with voting numbers exceeding previous years and 271,369 people already having voted as of 2pm today.
However, Peters is urging voters to hold off until October 17.
"Only a fool tests the water with both feet, know all the facts first."
"There are clangers being dropped every day which will influence the way in which the election will be run," the NZ First leader said today.
"If you’ve already voted and you find the party you’ve supported can’t even do their mathematics, then maybe you should wait until election day."
Labour leader Jacinda Ardern and Green Party co-leader James Shaw voted Saturday, National leader Judith Collins and ACT leader David Seymour voted Sunday and Green co-leader Marama Davison voted yesterday.
"Voting opens today! We got in nice and early, you should too! No lines, lots of space, quick and easy," Ardern wrote on social media.
"David and I voted today - and I’d love for you to all vote nice and early too," Collins wrote.
"Voted early today!" Seymour wrote, with Shaw writing, "Advance voting is now open. Check out the Electoral Commission website to find your local polling booth, then get out and have your say."
On October 2, the Electoral Commission urged people to "vote early and vote local" this year to help with social distancing amid the pandemic.
Chief electoral officer Alicia Wright told TVNZ1's Breakfast voting early in the General Election was "the right thing to do".
"That keeps queues down, gets people in and out of the voting place quickly, and that’s good for physical distancing," she said.
When asked about other leaders urging early voting due to Covid-19, Peters said the notion of voting early in case the country goes back to higher Alert Levels was "just a fear campaign in that context".
"It’s not consistent."
He said election day advertising rules "make no sense whatsoever" in regards to advance voting, as people were voting amid political advertising.
"Sixteenth of October down come all the hoardings. It just shows how foolish and risible some political actions are."
"Wait and find out everything that in the mix of policies because there are clanger after clanger after clanger being dropped every day now."
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