WHITTLESEA: Bid to void Ward election
Another controversy has hit the City of Whittlesea, led by $400,000 Chief Executive Officer Craig Lloyd (pictured).
The Victorian Electoral Commission has applied to the Victorian and Civil Administrative Tribunal to have the Lalor Ward election in Whittlesea voided.
“A hearing is set for later this month to hear evidence of vote tampering,” reported Tom Cowie of The Age.
“The outcome in the Lalor Ward was decided by just 39 votes, it is alleged that enough votes were stolen to sway the result, leading to a potential byelection if the fraud is proven.’
There is no suggestion of any wrongdoing by the winner of the Lalor Ward election, Cr Stevan Kozmevski, who previously served 22 years on Council, twice as Mayor.
The VEC alleges that ballots had been stolen from people’s mailboxes and then sent in with fake voter information.
If the Tribunal hearing is successful for the VEC, the City of Whittlesea is likely to be forced into calling a by-election.