THE results of the weekend’s council elections will not be known until more than seven days after polling day.
Voters had until 6pm on Friday (21 October) to complete and return ballot papers to the Victorian Electoral Commission to be counted but the election overseer will also count any votes received before midday on Friday 28 October to account for any postal delays.
Frankston Council votes will be tallied by computer count. Provisional results are expected between noon on Friday 28 October and Sunday 30 October and will be listed on the VEC’s website.
Results for all elections are provisional until the official declaration of results, between Monday 31 October and Friday 4 November, for all council elections across Victoria.
Elections to vote for councillors to represent the community at councils in Victoria are held every four years.
Thirty-five candidates ran for nine seats on Frankston Council. There were initially 36 candidates but John Billing retired from the race “for personal reasons”.
The Local Government Investigations and Compliance Inspectorate issued a media release last week stating “two candidates have been removed from the 2016 Victorian council elections as a result of enquiries by the Local Government Investigations and Compliance Inspectorate”.
Mr Billing, group manager of Frankston’s volunteer Beach Patrol, told The Times he had been contacted by the VEC about a problem with his registration as a candidate earlier this month and had decided then to withdraw from the election.
A later media release last week by the inspectorate confirmed Mr Billing “retired voluntarily” from the election and was not forcibly removed.
“It’s a shame because a lot of people told me I’d be a good councillor,” Mr Billing said.
He said he would be eligible to run as a council candidate in future elections.
First published in the Frankston Times – 24 October 2016
This article was amended on 26 October to note the Local Government Investigations and Compliance Inspectorate issued the first media release about the two candidates removal from council elections and not the Victorian Electoral Commission as originally stated.
