Whittlesea council election in Melbourne overturned over ‘fraud' votes: VCAT
Voters will be forced to return to the polls in Melbourne's outer suburbs after a local election was voided over concerns about fraudulently completed ballots.
The Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal sided with the state's election commission on Thursday in overturning the Whittlesea City Council's Lalor Ward result.
The VEC said staff had identified a 'high number of returns' in the Lalor Ward, of which 81 were ultimately deemed to be suspicious.
The final margin between Mr Kozmevski and the runner up candidate was just 39 votes.
In a statement, the VEC said it did not suggest Mr Kozmevski, or any other candidate, were involved in fraudulent activity.
Stevan Kozmevski, who was declared the winner of the October 2024 vote, will removed from the office of councillor effective immediately following the ruling by VCAT.
In her judgment, VCAT Vice President Judge English said she was satisfied electors were 'prevented from recording their votes effectively according to their own preference'.
Supporting Victorian Electoral Commission's position, she said 'there [had] not been the free and fair opportunity of electing the candidate which the majority might prefer'.
A postal by-election will be organised by the commission at 'a suitable date'.
Acting Electoral Commissioner Dana Fleming said Victorians could be confident 'their vote is safe and will not be undermined by those seeking to do wrong'.
'To those who seek to subvert our electoral processes, there will be consequences to your actions. We will detect your efforts, and we will act,' she said.
The VEC had earlier referred allegations to police of suspected postal vote tampering in Whittlesea and Knox City Council Baird Ward, which is yet to be decided by VCAT.
In a statement, the City of Whittlesea said that it noted the results of the Tribunal and that Mr Kozmevski would be removed from the office of councillor immediately.
'Council thanks Mr Kozmevski for his service to the City of Whittlesea community over many years, across a number of Council terms,' the council said.
'Council is not responsible for holding local government elections, they are conducted by the VEC.'
Mr Kozmevski was first elected to the council as an ALP-endorsed candidate in 1997, according to the council's website.
He served two terms as mayor and 22 years in total on council.
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