Moreland Council elections 2012

UPDATE 7.13pm: Moreland chief executive Peter Brown has confirmed North-East Ward will undergo a recount, further delaying a final result.

Councillors in North-West and South wards are at a special council meeting tonight being sworn in.

Mr Brown said the council had a quorom for tonight's proceedings and it could ``get down to business''.

It is not known when a result is likely for North-East Ward.

UPDATE 5.55pm: The Leader has been told there may be another recount of North-East Ward votes.

While the Leader is awaiting confirmation from the Victorian Electoral Commission about the possbility of a recount, it can confirm that North-East Ward councillors will not be sworn in tonight.

Only North-West Ward and South Ward candidates will be sworn in at a ceremony at 7pm at Moreland Civic Centre, 90 Bell St, Coburg.

UPDATE, THURSDAY, NOV 1, 10.03am: The re-examination of informal votes in Moreland's North-East Ward will take place at 11 am today at the VEC’s Collins St, Melbourne, headquarters.

The Moreland Leader will publish updates as they come to hand.

WEDNESDAY, OCT 31, 7.37pm:  The election result of Moreland's North-East Ward is in limbo tonight after the Victorian Electoral Commission announced it will re-examine almost 6000 informal votes before declaring the winners.



Candidates Sue Bolton, Rob Thompson, Lenka Thompson and Michael Teti were announced winners in VEC provisional results released last night, but at a declaration ceremony tonight was told the electoral commission could not declare them the winners.



Only North-West and South Ward's winners were declared at the ceremony in an almost empty council chamber at Moreland Civic Centre.



VEC Moreland returning officer Bob Guest said the review of informal votes was triggered by ``concerns by a number of candidates''.



Earlier today Mr Guest confirmed the VEC would not grant at least two candidates' requests for recounts of North-East Ward.



But Mr Guest said the latest move was ``not a recount…It's a review of informal (votes) to ensure that there's full confidence in the result that's been achieved through the computer count''.



He said the process would take about four hours, and he could not guarantee the council would be sworn in tomorrow night as planned.



``The known informal papers will be re-examined to check to see whether there are any formal papers in there. If there are formal papers in there they will be re-entered into the count,'' Mr Guest said.



``None of the other papers will be touched, only the informal papers. They will be re-examined again. Ballot papers that are under review may have the decision reversed.''

21.5 per cent of the vote in North-East Ward was informal.

 

YOUR SAY: What do you make of the whole election campaign? Post a comment below.

 

UPDATE WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 31, 10.42am: TWO multiple-term councillors are out and the political mix has dramatically shifted following Moreland Council’s election.

New faces to the chamber include a Socialist Alliance member and a Liberal Party member after the Victorian Electoral Commission.

North-East Ward emerged the wildcard with political activist Sue Bolton (Socialist Alliance) and maintenance industry manager Rob Thompson, an independent candidate who is a Liberal Party member, claiming the top two spots.

Incumbents Lenka Thompson (Greens) and Michael Teti (ALP member), who had the highest and second highest number of primary votes, came in third and fourth respectively.

Veteran councillors Stella Kariofyllidis and Anthony Helou lost their bids for re-election.

In North-West Ward, Oscar Yildiz (ALP member) and John Kavanagh (DLP member) took first and second position.

Legal Aid lawyer Helen Davidson, who has no political affiliation, took third and Australian Services Union organiser Lita Gillies (ALP member) claimed fourth.

The primary vote was an accurate prediction to the final outcome in South Ward with Lambros Tapinos (ALP member) first, Samantha Ratnam (Greens) second and communications officer Meghan Hopper (ALP member) placing third.

Only Oscar Yildiz and Lambros Tapinos reached the quota required for automatic election, while others relied on preferences to get them over the line.

Women will now dominate the chamber six to five.

The new council will be sworn in at a public ceremony tomorrow, November 1, at 7pm at Coburg Civic Centre.

UPDATE TUESDAY, OCTOBER 30, 2.35pm: THE VEC says it will post a final result for the Moreland count on its website late today or by 9am tomorrow at the latest, barring a recount.

UPDATE 3.55pm: THE VEC says final results for the Moreland count won't be available until tomorrow at 6pm.

UPDATE MONDAY, OCTOBER 29, 1.48pm: A FINAL election result in North-East Ward is expected about 5pm this afternoon, the Victorian Electoral Commission has confirmed.

Residents will have to wait until tomorrow morning for a final result for South Ward and tomorrow night for North-West Ward.

COUNCIL ELECTIONS 2012: Results and reaction across Melbourne

With 100 per cent of primary votes counted, most incumbents are polling well.

In North-East Ward, which has four vacancies, incumbent Lenka Thompson (Greens) is leading with 14 per cent of the primary vote (3237 votes) followed by incumbent Michael Teti (ALP) on 10.63 per cent (2458 votes). Sue Bolton (Socialist Alliance) has crept into third position with 9.5 per cent of the primary vote (2196 votes) and Rob Thompson (Liberal) is fourth on 9.32 per cent (2155 votes).

Incumbents Anthony Helou (ALP) is fifth on 7.26 per cent (1678 votes) and Stella Kariofyllidis in 7^th place (1605 votes).

In North-West Ward, which also has four vacancies, two former Moreland mayors lead the race.

Oscar Yildiz (ALP) is the front runner with 21.16 per cent of primaries (5236 votes), followed by John Kavanagh (DLP member) on 17.20 per cent (4256 votes). Helen Davidson (Independent) is third with 10.19 per cent of primaries (2523 votes) and Mark Riley (Greens) is fourth on 8.22 per cent (2034 votes).

Three candidates appear poised to claim the three vacancies in South Ward.

Incumbent Lambros Tapinos (ALP) is slightly ahead with 24.92 per cent of primaries (3832 votes) with Samantha Ratnam (Greens) on 23.27 per cent (3579 votes) and Meghan Hopper (ALP) on 16.78 per cent (2580 votes).

More than 1000 votes separate Ms Hopper and the candidate placing fourth, Martin Forster (Independent), who has 9.83 per cent of the primary vote (1512 votes).

In South Ward, only 56.39 per cent of those on the electoral roll have voted, with 8 per cent casting informal votes.

In North West Ward 68.25 per cent voted, with 11.81 per cent informal, and in North-East Ward 66.48 per cent with 15.61 informal.

UPDATE 5.22PM: South ward's Lambros Tapinos and Samantha Ratnam are in prime position to win.

Mr Tapinos has 24.94 per cent of the vote and Ms Ratnam has 23.31 per cent.

The third spot looks likely to go to Meghan Hopper, who has 16.83 per cent of the primary vote, an ALP member who shares many similarities with outgoing South ward councillor Alice Pryor.

At this stage it appears South ward is set to remain the most similar of the three wards to last term.

Mr Tapinos welcomed the result.

"I’m very happy with the result; obviously I thank the people who supported me with their votes on Saturday," Mr Tapinos said.

Mr Tapinos said his performance last term, commitment to improving parks and infrastructure, and stance for supporting mandatory height limits and retaining bluestones played substantial roles in getting him over the line.

"Development was a big issue and a lot of people had remembered me from the urban planning committee meetings and how I voted on certain applications.

"Traffic was a big issue, the bluestones was a big issue (as was the Brunswick Terminal Station)."

UPDATE 4.55PM: Incumbent Cr Stella Kariofyllidis hopes preferences will give her a win in Moreland's North East ward

Contesting her fifth term on North East ward, Stella Kariofyllidis is placed seventh on first preference votes but says preference distribution could see her win a seat.

Ms Kariofyllidis said she was busy catching up on housework and had not looked at preliminary results when Leader contacted her this afternoon.

With 6.9 per cent of the first preference votes, Ms Kariofyllidis said she was hopeful she could triumph because she believed several leading candidates were among three groups sharing preference deals, meaning only one in each group would win.

"You can never be confident a hundred per cent but I still have a chance I think," Cr Kariofyllidis said.

"Once preferences come out, we’ll find out."

UPDATE SUNDAY, OCTOBER 28, 3.40PM: PRELIMINARY results for Moreland Council’s election are in.

While 99 per cent of first preference votes have been counted, Tuesday’s final result could change substantially following the distribution of preferences.

PICTURES: Polling booths in Moreland

COUNCIL ELECTIONS 2012: Leader's Melbourne-wide coverage

In North-East ward, where 24 candidates contest four seats, two of four incumbents lead the race.

Incumbents Lenka Thompson (Greens) is the front runner with 14.04 per cent of votes, followed by Michael Teti (ALP) on 10.69 per cent. Rob Thompson (Liberal) has 9.37 per cent and Sue Bolton (Socialist Alliance) has 9.32 per cent of votes.

In North-West ward, 17 candidates contest four seats. With two councillors retired, the remaining two incumbents lead the race.

Oscar Yildiz (ALP) is the clear favourite with 21.19 per cent of the vote, followed by John Kavanagh (DLP member) on 17.29 per cent. Helen Davidson (Independent) is next on 10.19 per cent with Mark Riley (Greens) coming in fourth with 8.22 per cent.

In South ward, eight candidates contest three seats and two sitting councillors have retired.

Sole incumbent ALP councillor Lambros Tapinos leads with 24.94, closely followed by Samantha Ratnam (Greens) on 23.31 and Meghan Hopper (ALP) has 16.83 per cent.

All first preference votes will be counted by tonight and the distribution of preferences will begin at 9am tomorrow.

Moreland residents cast their votes for three wards at polling booths yesterday.

Check this site for updates and reaction.

PREVIEW: Moreland campaign closes

INTERACTIVE GUIDE: All you need to know about the council elections

RESULTS BLOG: Victorian Local Governance Association tally room