Announcing Her Resignation After Reflecting Over Summer, New Zealand PM Jacinda Ardern: Politicians Are People

New Zealand PM Jacinda Ardern. (Wikimedia Commons/US Embassy)

JAKARTA - New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced she would be stepping down from her post by early February at the latest, and would not seek re-election in the upcoming October 14 election.

At her Labor Party's annual caucus meeting on Thursday, PM Ardern said "I don't have enough manpower anymore" to do the job. "It's time," reported The Guardian on January 19.

"I'm leaving, because with such a privileged role comes responsibility. Responsibility to know when you are the right person to lead and also when you are not," said PM Ardern.

"I know what this job requires. And I know that I no longer have enough tanks to do it justice. It's that simple."

It said her term as prime minister would end by February 7 at the latest.

Saying she is human, PM Ardern said it was time to leave the post she had occupied since 2017.

"I am human, politicians are human. We give everything we can for as long as we can. And then the moment comes. And for me, this is the moment," explained PM Ardern.

Ardern said she had pondered over the summer break whether she had the energy to continue in that role. And, she concluded that he could no longer do it.

Ardern became the world's youngest female head of government when she was elected prime minister in 2017 at the age of 37.

It is not yet clear who will replace her. Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Grant Robertson, considered the strongest candidate to replace Ardern, said he would not seek the position.

In a statement, she said, "I am not running for the leadership of the Labor Party."

The Labor caucus has seven days to find a new leader and prime minister who has the support of two-thirds of the caucus.

The caucus vote for the new leader will take place within three days, on January 22. If neither meets the support threshold in the caucus, the leadership contest will go to members of the broader Labor Party.