Error sees candidates miss Australia election

Over 100 candidates from the Liberal Party in the most populous state in Australia will not be able to run for council following a “monumental stuff up” which saw the party miss a deadline for election nomination. New South Wales (NSW) officials say that they legally cannot accept any late entries and one of the top election analysts in Australia estimates that the party will likely lose around 50 council seats as a result of this error.

Multiple long-serving politicians will now be automatically out of their post and constituents in eight councils will now have no Liberal Party candidate to vote for. “Limited resources” according to state party director Richard Shields who has apologised for failing to complete and turn in the paperwork before the deadline.

In a letter to MPs, the state parliamentary leader for the party, Mark Speakman, described it as “probably the worst act of mismanagement” in the history of  the Liberal Party, and added that Shields should have requested more resources. His position, Speakman added, was untenable and some are calling for him to step down from his position.

Election analyst Ben Raue said that the exact number of affected contests has not been confirmed but he estimates that the Liberal Party will be 136 candidates short for the election. In a post on his Tally Room blog, Raue said that those who missed the ballot includes 38 currently serving councillors.

In a statement, state’s electoral commission said that it is bound by law, prohibiting it from accepting a late nomination form or to allow for changes to forms submitted after the deadline date. The party has been sent into a crisis as a result of the error and senior Liberal MPs are “lining up to express their outrage,” according to the BBC.

You can visit the official website of the Liberal Party of Australia for more information here.