Lalor Ward election results voided after concerns raised over 'suspected fraudulently completed ballots'
- Leonardo Puglisi
- 21 hours ago
- 2 min read
Updated: 53 minutes ago
A by-election will now take place in the Whittlesea City Council ward.
The results of the local government elections in Lalor Ward on Whittlesea City Council have been voided after a decision from the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT).
The Victorian Electoral Commission (VEC) raised concerns last year over "suspected fraudulently completed ballots". According to The Sydney Morning Herald, "the first preferences on the stolen votes were allocated to Nicholas Hajichristou", who ran as a candidate for the "Community Independents" group led by currently-suspended mayor Aidan McLindon.
Lalor was won by endorsed Labor candidate Stevan Kozmevski with 50.15% of the two-candidate-preferred vote against independent candidate Ellen McNaught. Hajichristou finished in third place with 27.2% of the primary vote.
Kozmevski, who was first elected in 1997 as a Labor councillor, no longer holds the office of a councillor as a result of the decision. The VEC does not suggest Kozmevski or any other candidate was involved in the fraud. 6 News also makes no suggestion that any candidate at the 2024 local elections were involved.
VCAT Vice President Judge Caitlin English said in her decision that she "is satisfied the electors were proven to have been prevented from recording their votes effectively according to their own preference".
Acting Victorian Electoral Commissioner Dana Fleming welcomed the decision, and the VEC says its staff "were able to detect a high number of multiple returns in the Lalor Ward election and ultimately identified 81 suspicious returns".
The VEC also says its separate application to VCAT regarding potential fraud in Knox City Council's Baird Ward at the same elections is yet to be decided.
A by-election will not take place via post. Nominations open on 16 June and close on 24 June. Postal votes will be mailed out in mid-July, with voting closing on 1 August. The official election day is 2 August, and a result will be declared by 22 August.
Also announced by the VEC on Friday was a by-election timeline for North West Ward on Darebin City Council, following the death of independent councillor Gaetano Greco. It follows the exact same timeline as the Lalor Ward by-election.
The ward was contested by Labor, the Greens and the Victorian Socialists in 2024.
