Council Nomination Deadline Extension Request by Liberals Denied Due to Paperwork Error
The request by the NSW Liberal party for an extended local nomination deadline has been rejected, limiting choices for conservative voters in certain council elections.
The Liberals’ plea for a one-week extension on local election nominations was turned down on Aug. 17 by the New South Wales (NSW) electoral commissioner.
Due to the failure to submit up to 151 nomination forms for local elections on time, Liberal state president Don Harwin wrote to the NSW electoral commission requesting an extension until Aug. 21.
However, after reviewing the reasons for an extension, acting NSW electoral commissioner Mathew Phillips denied the request.
Impact on Conservative Voters
There are still 281 Liberals running across 31 council areas, but conservative voters will have limited choices in certain council elections.
Eight local councils, including some strong Liberal areas, do not have a Liberal candidate, and nine councils have only partial Liberal candidate coverage.
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Liberal Party Preventative Action
NSW Liberal State Director Richard Shields was dismissed on Aug. 15 in response to the oversight.
The party acknowledged that the mistake was unacceptable and assured that affected endorsed candidates would be compensated.
“To prevent a recurrence of this incident, we are conducting a thorough review of our processes to identify what went wrong,” the NSW Liberal Party stated on Aug. 16.
“We are fully committed to making all necessary changes to improve our processes… While this setback occurred, it will not define us.”
