The Western Australian Government has urged a greater participation rate in local government voting after recent figures released by the Western Australian Electoral Commission shows that just 26 per cent of ballot papers issued have been returned from the 1,122,309 voting packages sent out.

 

State Local Government Minister John Castrilli said it was unfair for people to level criticism at local governments without participating in the voting process.

 

Mr Castrilli said councils do receive complaints from the public, but responsibility for electing the right people lies with the community taking the time to assess candidates and vote for someone who will best represent them.

 

“These elections are about ‘Your vote - Your Community’ and I urge Western Australian electors to make sure they have their say in these local government elections,” Mr Castrilli said.

 

More than one million electors have now been posted a voting package, covering the 74 local governments undertaking WA Electoral Commission-conducted postal elections.  There are some districts and wards where candidates have been elected unopposed.

 

The state’s local government elections will be held on October 15.