❓ Hon Peter Collier questions the Minister for Electoral Affairs regarding the delayed release of local government election results on the WAEC website. The Minister clarifies the WAEC's role and explains the result publication process.
AnsweredQoN 1485Legislative Council
QuestionView source ↗
LOCAL GOVERNMENT — ELECTIONS
1485. Hon PETER COLLIER to the
parliamentary secretary representing the Minister for Electoral Affairs:
(1) Is the Western
Australian Electoral Commission responsible for conducting local government
elections in Western Australia?
(2) If yes to
(1), why were the results from the recent local government elections not
available on the WAEC website on the night of the poll, 21 October, or, in some
instances, for days or weeks after the elections?
1485. Hon PETER COLLIER to the
parliamentary secretary representing the Minister for Electoral Affairs:
(1) Is the Western
Australian Electoral Commission responsible for conducting local government
elections in Western Australia?
(2) If yes to
(1), why were the results from the recent local government elections not
available on the WAEC website on the night of the poll, 21 October, or, in some
instances, for days or weeks after the elections?
AnswerView source ↗
I thank the member for some notice
of the question. The following answer has been provided to me by the Minister
for Electoral Affairs.
(1) Under the Local Government Act 1995, a local
government opting for a postal election must declare, by agreement, that
the Electoral Commissioner will conduct the election on its behalf. Councils
may choose to conduct their own in-person election or ask the Western Australian
Electoral Commission to conduct an in-person election on their behalf. The WAEC
recently conducted 124 of the 139 local government elections.
(2) Official
results are published by the Electoral Commission on its website only after a formal
declaration by a returning officer. The Electoral Commission provided advice in
the lead-up to the elections that final results may not be available until the
Monday or Tuesday. This advice was also published on its website and social
medial channels on election day and the following days.
All local government elections,
except for the City of Swan, were formally declared by the Electoral Commission by Wednesday, 25 October 2023.
The result for the City of Swan was declared on Thursday, 26 October
2023.
of the question. The following answer has been provided to me by the Minister
for Electoral Affairs.
(1) Under the Local Government Act 1995, a local
government opting for a postal election must declare, by agreement, that
the Electoral Commissioner will conduct the election on its behalf. Councils
may choose to conduct their own in-person election or ask the Western Australian
Electoral Commission to conduct an in-person election on their behalf. The WAEC
recently conducted 124 of the 139 local government elections.
(2) Official
results are published by the Electoral Commission on its website only after a formal
declaration by a returning officer. The Electoral Commission provided advice in
the lead-up to the elections that final results may not be available until the
Monday or Tuesday. This advice was also published on its website and social
medial channels on election day and the following days.
All local government elections,
except for the City of Swan, were formally declared by the Electoral Commission by Wednesday, 25 October 2023.
The result for the City of Swan was declared on Thursday, 26 October
2023.
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