Council elections are held every two years. Voting in local government elections is not compulsory – but you are encouraged to vote and have your say in your local community if you are eligible.

Here is a summary of how Council elections work in the City of Belmont:
 

• The Council comprises nine Councillors;
• Each Councillor is elected to serve the three wards of the City for a term of four years;
• The Councillors elect the Mayor after each election, every two years.

In the current Council, five Councillors were elected in October 2017 for terms ending in October 2021 and four were elected in 2019 for terms ending in October 2023.

Extraordinary Elections

When necessary, under section 4.8 of the Local Government Act 1995, Extraordinary Elections are held between ordinary elections.

The election process

Council elections are run by the Western Australian Electoral Commission using the postal voting method. Here is what happens:
 

• The Western Australian Electoral Commission appoints an independent Returning Officer to oversee the election, including accepting candidate nominations during the 8-day nomination period and supervising the count on election night;
• If you are on the City of Belmont electoral roll, you will receive an election package in the mail about three weeks before election day;
• You can then vote and return your package by mail or place it in the sealed ballot box at the City of Belmont Civic Centre, 215 Wright Street Cloverdale, up until 6:00pm on election day. 

Voting in local government elections is not compulsory. If you are going to be away at the time of the election, you can ask someone to forward your papers to you. A replacement package can also be issued if yours has been lost or destroyed. 

How to vote

Please follow the instructions in your election package.

The ‘first past the post’ system is used for local government elections. This means you will tick a box next to the names of the candidates you would like to elect, up to the total number of Councillor positions to be filled.

Election results

Candidates are elected in order of the number of votes they receive.

The count takes place on election night as soon as possible after the close of polling at 6:00pm. Results are made available later that evening where possible, with official notice given as soon as possible after the election.