Gold Coast City Council election 2024: Latest counting data and candidate news

The latest figures are in for the contentious Division 7, revealing a major development for suspended councillor Ryan Bayldon-Lumsden. See the full election update

Suspended councillor Ryan Bayldon-Lumsden has moved into second position trailing rival candidate Joe Wilkinson, in the tense fight for Division 7.

With more than 70 per cent of the primary vote counted, Cr Bayldon-Lumsden has 4590 votes - almost 22 per cent of the total vote.

Mr Wilkinson has 5331 votes, putting him 741 votes in front, securing more than 25 per cent of the vote.

Candidate Jenna Schroeder has moved back to third with 4550 votes, just 40 votes behind Cr Bayldon-Lumsden, having achieved 21.55 per cent of the vote.

The division will now be decided by preferences and postal votes.

Scrutineers watching the count have reported varying trends with the preferences from minor candidates.

Those votes appear to be split between Mr Wilkinson and Ms Schroeder. All the other candidates asked voters to put Cr Bayldon-Lumsden last on their how-to-vote card.

Ms Schroeder on Facebook told supporters she had returned to work.

“The wait is going to be intense, but I’m back at work - so that should take my mind off it,” she said.

‘Politics is brutal’: Council seats on a knife-edge as counting continues

Several Gold Coast council divisions remain too close to call – including suspended councillor Ryan Bayldon-Lumsden’s Division 7.

Joe Wilkinson during Monday’s official count was 62 votes ahead of rival candidate Jenna Schroeder for Division 7, which takes in Labrador, Arundel and Parkwood.

However, with final counting after Saturday’s poll tipped to take days. Cr Bayldon-Lumsden is still a contender.

The suspended councillor was third about 443 votes behind Mr Wilkinson and still, according some scrutineers, capable of improving his vote.

Cr Bayldon-Lumsden stood at pre-poll each day for two weeks and those votes have not been officially posted.

But scrutineers have told the Bulletin they believe the pre-poll count will see Cr Bayldon-Lumsden move to second position. It is understood Mr Wilkinson will continue to lead. The vote from early voting centres is understood to be about 2500 for him.

Division Seven candidate Joe Wilkinson scrutineering as he checks his votes at the Returning Officer headquarters at Arundel for the 2024 Gold Coast City Council election.

Cr Bayldon-Lumsden was about 300 votes behind on pre-poll. Ms Schroeder is thought to have about 400 votes less than Cr Bayldon-Lumsden from early voting.

In a Facebook post, she estimated almost 38 per cent of the total vote had been counted.

“We always knew preferences would be important for Division 7, and it’s looking like it will come down to where voters placed us after one of the other candidates,” she said.

“As candidates are knocked out of the race and their preferences are distributed, whoever hits the magical 50.1 per cent mark will become our new councillor.”

Scrutineers have glanced at piles of votes and say it will be difficult to determine any consistent trend.

The only pattern is supporters for Cr Bayldon-Lumsden and candidate Edward Sarroff have followed their how-to-vote instructions and “voted one”.

The Returning Officer headquarters at Arundel where votes are being counted in the 2024 Gold Coast City Council election.

Mr Wilkinson who was scrutineering said there were thousands of votes to be counted.

“It’s going to be a very long day and it could trickle out to more than a day,” he said.

“I’m about 60 votes ahead. It could be days, I wish I could give an answer (on when it is decided) but this is going to take some time.”

Cr Bayldon-Lumsden was suspended by the state government after being charged with the murder of his stepfather Robert Lumsden, 58, at their Arundel home on August 23 last year.

His legal team has entered a not guilty plea to the murder charge.

SOUTHERN STOUSH

The other key divisions still in play include the Gold Coast’s most southern division where in a shock result, candidate Kath Down is slightly ahead of Councillor Gail O’Neill.

As the count continued on Monday, Ms Down had 7940 votes (46.3 per cent) ahead of Cr O’Neill with 7845 (45.7 per cent) in Division 14.

Preferences are yet to be counted and it is not known which candidate if any will benefit from the votes for Animal Justice Party candidate Benjamin Theakstone – at this point he has 1365 votes (7.95 per cent).

The industrial showroom being used at Arundel as the headquarters for the Returning Officer as votes are being counted in the 2024 Gold Coast City Council election.

Ms Down in a short post wrote: “I feel my team and I did well at prepoll – keeping fingers crossed.”

In Division 11, vacated by Councillor Hermann Vorster who is running for the LNP in the State seat of Burleigh, less than 1000 votes have been counted.

Dan Doran has 57 per cent of the vote with Nic Rone on just more than 42 per cent.

But a breakdown of booth votes so far show the Division is split.

Mr Doran is getting a majority vote in Robina, and Mr Rone outpolling him by a similar margin in Varsity Lakes where he has a business base.

But scrutineers suggest Mr Doran will win because he appears to have been a stronger performer at pre-poll.

NOON MONDAY: ‘We need councillors now’: Tate’s fury over uncertain results

Mayor Tom Tate has blasted the Electoral Commission of Queensland over long polling booth waits and the slow speed of counting following Saturday’s election.

Mr Tate, who was re-elected to a fourth term in office, urged ECQ officials to speed up the count so new councillors could be sworn in before the end of March.

“I would hope we can do it before the end of next week so that we can have our first council meeting in mid-April and get the ball rolling,” he said.

Tom Tate in the Gold Coast City Council Chambers happy about a fourth term and four more years as Mayor. Picture Glenn Hampson

‘We have a lot to do in the city, so the sooner the ECQ can declare it the better.

“Next time, let’s not make voters wait so long in line, get more staff so they can come in, do their vote and get out.

“This just isn’t right and with the counting, can’t they borrow those money-counting machines from the banks and put the sheets in so boom there’s a result?

“It’s not a hard way of thinking about it but that’s my humble opinion.”

Mr Tate confirmed he had spoken to Deputy Mayor Donna Gates but said he did not want to pre-empt further conversations with her about whether she would continue in the role she has held for 12 years.

“That’s a conversation which we will have to sit down and talk to her about,” he said.

Murder-accused councillor Ryan Bayldon-Lumsden handing out how to vote material at Arundel State School. Picture: Glenn Campbell

The Mayor also offered commiserations for Coolangatta councillor Gail O’Neill whose political future is in doubt with current counting putting opponent Kath Down slightly ahead.

“Politics is a brutal sport and my attitude is that the result is not finished until the last vote is counted.

“Be optimistic and stay out there and scrutinise and I wish her all the best.”

Mr Tate said he was not surprised by the swing against suspended Division 7 councillor Ryan Bayldon-Lumsden, who is currently running third behind Joe Wilkinson and Jenna Schroeder.

“Not really, I was on the booths for two weeks and know people’s thought process but looking at it with preferences, I better not say who I think will win because that person will be mad at me for the next four years if I’m wrong.

“People have spoken there but it will be a close race.

“I enjoy working with Ryan but the voter is always right.”