Overview

• The Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT) has voided the October 2024 Lalor Ward election result, citing fraudulent postal ballots that compromised the integrity of the vote.
• A total of 81 suspicious postal ballots were flagged by the Victorian Electoral Commission (VEC), with irregularities including duplicate returns and fraudulent completion of declaration envelopes.
• Stevan Kozmevski, who won the election by a narrow 39-vote margin, has been removed from office, though neither he nor any other candidate is alleged to have been involved in the fraud.
• The VEC will organize a postal by-election for Lalor Ward, with the date yet to be determined, while police and the Local Government Inspectorate continue investigating the source of the ballot tampering.
• This case underscores ongoing vulnerabilities in postal voting, prompting calls for stronger electoral safeguards following similar issues in past elections.