By C. Perera, JadeTimes News
More than 100 Liberal Party candidates in New South Wales, Australia's most populous state, will be ineligible to run for council due to a critical error where the party failed to meet the nomination deadline. NSW officials have confirmed they cannot legally accept late submissions, leading top election analyst Ben Raue to predict the party will likely lose about 50 council seats as a result.
This oversight means several veteran politicians will automatically lose their positions, and voters in eight councils will not have any Liberal Party candidates to choose from. Richard Shields, the state party director, has apologized for the mishap, attributing it to "limited resources" that prevented timely completion of the necessary paperwork.
Mark Speakman, the party's state parliamentary leader, addressed MPs in a letter, calling the situation "probably the worst act of mismanagement" in the party’s history and suggesting that Mr. Shields should have requested additional resources. He also stated that Mr. Shields' position is untenable and that he has been asked to step down.
Election analyst Ben Raue has calculated that the Liberal Party is 136 candidates short of a full slate, including 38 sitting councillors who have missed out on nominations. Among those affected is current councillor Paul Ell, who was planning to run for mayor of the Shoalhaven City Council. Mr. Ell expressed his disappointment, telling the Australian Broadcasting Corporation that the situation is "upsetting and devastating" and detrimental to local democracy.
In Wollongong, approximately 90 km south of Sydney, the error has prematurely ended the 13 year council career of John Dorahy, though he remains hopeful for some leniency from officials. However, the NSW Electoral Commission released a statement asserting that it is bound by the law, which does not permit accepting late nomination forms or making changes to already submitted forms after the deadline.
The blunder has plunged the NSW Liberal Party into crisis, with numerous senior MPs voicing their frustration. Deputy parliamentary leader Natalie Ward expressed her anger on radio station 2GB, labeling the situation a "monumental stuff up." Similarly, Anthony Roberts described the error as "abysmal," remarking that in his 30 years of public service, he had "never seen anything so bad."
Mr. Shields issued a statement on Wednesday, apologizing on behalf of the party secretariat to the Liberal endorsed councillors who were not nominated and to the broader party membership.
