By Melissa McCullough
KINGSTON has a new councillor after Nikki Kaur was declared the winner of the Melaleuca Ward by-election on Friday (14 August), with the Victorian Electoral Commission announcing an investigation into voting irregularities only hours later.
The VEC election manager Rod Van Cooten declared the result at 10am with winner Nikki Kaur immediately taking the oath of office.
But by midday the VEC had announced it was referring matters concerning postal voting in the by-election to Victoria’s Local Government Inspectorate after irregularities were identified during routine election integrity checks.
The VEC stated “Given the allegations of election interference, the VEC will also apply for an inquiry into the validity of the election through the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal”.
Electoral Commissioner Sven Bluemmel said the VEC takes any allegation of interference with a person’s vote seriously.
“The integrity of Victoria’s elections is fundamental to public confidence in our democracy,” said Bluemmel.
The VEC did not provide details of what specific matters would be referred to the Local Government Inspectorate and VCAT.
The results having been declared, Kingston mayor Cr Georgina Oxley congratulated Kaur on her election.
“It is my pleasure to congratulate Nikki on her election and welcome her to Council,” said Oxley.
“I look forward to working alongside Cr Kaur and my fellow councillors as we continue delivering the projects, services and advocacy that matter most to our community.”
Kaur said she was honoured to have been elected and thanked everyone in Melaleuca Ward for placing their trust in her.
“I’m looking forward to getting out into the community, meeting residents and businesses, listening to what’s important to people and working alongside my fellow councillors to make a positive difference for Melaleuca Ward and the wider Kingston community,” she said.
Kingston Council has been without a Melaleuca Ward councillor since March, when former councillor Tess Law resigned. Thirteen candidates had nominated for the by-election. With such a vast field, the contest was always going to come down to preferences.
Glenn Dumbrell attracted the highest number of primary votes (1591; 18.84% of votes) with Kaur coming in second (1260; 14.92% of votes) and Louise Black only 14 votes further back (1246; 14.75% of votes).
But after the distribution of preferences, Kaur pulled ahead of Dumbrell, winning by 225 votes, and 51.33% of the two-candidate-preferred votes.
Oxley said council was deeply committed to upholding local democracy and will work closely with the VEC to ensure all correct procedures are followed, welcoming the VEC’s decision to refer matters of irregularity to the relevant agencies.
First published in the Chelsea Mordialloc News – 19 August 2026