Five elected unopposed as King Island falls short of council candidates

King Island will still go to the polls in October to choose its mayor and deputy mayor, despite only five people nominating for the seven councillor positions.

Nominations for Tasmania’s 2026 local government elections closed at noon on Monday, September 21, with the Tasmanian Electoral Commission confirming King Island was one of two councils where there were not enough candidates to fill all available seats. King Island received five nominations for seven councillor positions.

Under the Local Government Act 1993, where the number of candidates does not exceed the number of positions available, those candidates are elected without the need for a poll. The five King Island candidates are therefore elected unopposed.

However, the election is far from over.

There are two candidates for mayor and two candidates for deputy mayor, meaning King Island electors will still receive ballot papers to decide both leadership positions. The Act provides that elections for mayor and deputy mayor are separate from the councillor election but are held at the same time.

The two remaining councillor positions will not require a separate by-election at a later date. Instead, the Electoral Commissioner can call for new nominations for the two unfilled seats. The TEC has advised that notices calling for further nominations will be published on Wednesday, September 23, with nominations closing at noon on Monday, September 28. If more than two candidates nominate for the remaining two positions, a councillor ballot will be required. If only two candidates nominate, they will be elected unopposed. If a poll is needed, it can be conducted alongside the mayoral and deputy mayoral ballots during the existing election period.

This year King Island and Tasman were the only councils to fall short of the required number of councillor candidates. Statewide, 430 candidates nominated for 213 councillor positions, while 258 are also contesting mayor or deputy mayor positions.

The TEC is due to formally announce candidate names at noon on Tuesday, September 22.

Ballot packs will begin being delivered from Monday, October 5, with voting closing at 2pm on Tuesday, October 27. Voting in Tasmania’s local government elections is by postal ballot and is compulsory for electors on the State roll.