You will see our new look for this site for this year. We have several exciting new innovations is store for our coverage of this year's triennial elections (more about that soon). So keep an eye out for our What's New section.

1999 Triennial Elections

1999 promises to be an eventful year commencing with a local plebiscite on Melton Shire's future municipal governance. Melton residents will vote by 29 January on whether to retain their appointed Commissioners or revert to elected councillors. Should the poll favour an elected Council, Melton will join 19 other Victorian municipalities in holding their regular triennial elections on 20 March 1999. One further Council, Nillumbik Shire will also conduct an election on 20 March 1999 for a new Council based on an electoral system previously reserved for Melbourne and Greater Geelong City Councils.

The year's elections include ballots in the state's premier municipality, the City of Melbourne, the second and third largest regional cities of Ballarat and Greater Bendigo, and (in order of population) the major regional centres of Warrnambool, Bacchus Marsh, Colac, Portland, Hamilton, Ararat, Camperdown and Port Fairy. Each represent larger separate municipal councils.

Melbourne City Council

Heightened interest always accompanies elections for Victoria's first council. This year's election will feature a greatly enlarged enrolment even as the excision of the Docklands precinct looms. The promise of no less than four web sites dedicated to this election (including this humble effort) is testiment to the wide interest.

Metropolitan Councils

Seven of the eight inner Melbourne councils will be holding their triennial elections. Darebin City conducted its election last September. Together with Melbourne City, new councils will be elected for the Cities of Boroondara, Hobsons Bay, Moreland, Port Phillip, Stonnington and Yarra.
The outer metropolitan council of Nillumbik Shire will be electing a new nine-member council with five ward councillors (elected by preferential voting system) and four shire-wide councillors-at-large (elected by a Senate-style proportional method). This is is modelled on the election system currently in place for the Cities of Melbourne and Greater Geelong.

Greater Bendigo and Ballarat

The large regional Cities of Greater Bendigo and Ballarat will each elect new nine-member councils.

Geelong District and South West Victoria

Ten municipalities west of Geelong will go to the polls in March. Ararat and Colac-Otway Rural Cities, Corangamite, Glenelg, Golden Plains, Moorabool, Moyne, Pyrenees and Southern Grampians Shires and Warrnambool City will elect a total of 79 candidates.