New Zealanders vote in support of euthanasia bill

WELLINGTON - The majority of New Zealanders voted in support of the End of Life Choice Act which will give nod to assisted dying for people with terminal illness, provisional results of two referendums voted on in the 2020 General Election showed on Friday.

New Zealanders were also asked whether they supported the proposed Cannabis Legalization and Control Bill, and the End of Life Choice Act 2019 coming into force in the referendums on Oct 17 along with the general election.

About 65.2 percent of the electorate voted in favor of the euthanasia referendum, which were 1,574,645 votes, and 33.8 percent said no in the End of Life Choice referendum, or 815,829 votes, according to the preliminary results released by the Electoral Commission.

In the cannabis question, 46.1 percent of the voters, or 1,114,485 votes, said "yes", and 53.1 percent or 1,281,818 ballots chose "no", the resulted showed.

Final referendum results are due to be released on Nov 6 with the official election results, as nearly half a million ballots are still waiting to be counted.

The End of Life Choice Act has gone through the parliamentary process and has been given Royal Assent, so it will come into effect next year, Minister of Justice Andrew Little said in a statement.

Assisted dying remains illegal in New Zealand until Nov 6 next year, and the act will be administered by the Ministry of Health, Little said.

The Cannabis Legalization and Control Bill will not be introduced as legislation by the Labor government this term, he said.

Subject to the release of the final results on Nov 6, the incoming government will respect the result of both referendums. This will mean that recreational cannabis use will remain illegal in New Zealand, he said.