Brimbank residents have at least another three days to wait until their 11 new councillors are named.
Provisional results of the local government election will be announced from midday this Friday, seven years after the last Brimbank council was sacked and replaced by administrators.
But the official declaration of results will not be made until 4pm next Monday at the Brimbank Community and Civic Centre.
“Results will not change between provisional and official results unless there is a need for a recount, which very rarely occurs,” a Victorian Electoral Commission (VEC) spokesman said.
As of 9.30am yesterday, the electoral forms of more than 45,000 Brimbank residents – about a third of voters – had not been received.
Some 89,115 municipal election ballots had been returned, leaving 45,477 ballots, or 33.79 per cent, yet to come in.
Late last week a VEC spokesman said he expected a significant number of ballots to arrive this week.
He said this year’s postal election was different from previous council elections, where results were often available during the election weekend or shortly thereafter.
“Results can only be determined once all ballot papers able to be admitted are received and counted, so the [official] results will not be available until [Monday],” the spokesman said.
Voters had to mail their ballot material or hand-deliver it to the local election office at 12 Hertford Road, Sunshine, by 6pm last Friday.
Residents who failed to vote before the deadline will be fined $78.
The VEC has until midday on Friday, October 28, to receive and admit mailed ballots.
Provisional results will be published between noon on Friday and Sunday at www.vec.vic.gov.au
All results are provisional until the public declaration of results on Monday.
Eleven councillor positions are up for grabs across four wards in Brimbank.
