The Municipal Association of Victoria (MAV) says it is disappointed that council elections will not be delayed.

Victoria’s Minister for Local Government, Shaun Leane, announced the Government’s decision not to defer the state’s council elections this week.

But the MAV believes the October elections have been seriously compromised by COVID-19.

With the ongoing restrictions in metropolitan Melbourne and rural and regional Victoria, the lobby has warned that the state faces the proposition that many candidates will not nominate.

It has warned that current stage 4 and 3 restrictions also make campaigning very difficult and costly.

MAV President Cr Coral Ross said it is incredibly frustrating that the State Government has not listened to the sector, and taken the decision to delay elections.

“We have been calling for a deferral of local government elections for months now due to the significant impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on free and fair elections,” Cr Ross said this week.

“Minister Leane’s announcement today means that the elections will not have the quality and diversity of candidates that Victoria deserves.

“We know that not all councils were in favour of postponing council elections until 2021, but in the current environment and State of Disaster, it would have been a sensible and practical decision, for communities, candidates and councils,” Cr Ross said.