British Muslim Vote guides Australian stablemates amid challenging electoral map

The masterminds behind the shock win of four ‘Gaza independents’ in July’s UK elections are guiding Australia’s Muslim Votes Matter campaign ahead of the next federal election. 

Muslim Votes Matter national representative Ghaith Krayem speaks at the group’s national launch in Melbourne on September 1. Picture: David Crosling

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On the back of its success at the British election, the masterminds behind the shock election of four “Gaza independents” are advising and guiding their Australian stablemates through a more challenging electoral map ahead of the next federal election.

The move comes as Muslim Votes Matter, one of two major organisations in Australia, launched its national campaign ahead of the election, and after one movement-backed candidate scrambled to contain fallout from Facebook posts he made appearing to celebrate Hamas’s October 7 atrocities in Israel.

The Muslim Vote UK masterminded the election of four Gaza independents – the group dislikes the label – in the Labour Party’s heartlands in the British election in July, with another campaign-backed candidate coming within 500 votes of ousting the now Health Secretary, Wes Streeting.

The group’s national co-ordinator, Abubakr Nanabawa, told The Australian that the success would be harder to replicate in Australia’s preferential system, but that the community’s political mobilisation would be permanent.

“It’s a very different electoral system,” he said.

“But the main advice has been to go local, understand what’s happening on the ground.”

Another leader, Wajid Akhter, provided a video message to the MVM’s national launch. Its national representative, Ghaith Krayem, previously told The Australian it would aim for a hung parliament, and could back Greens or teal candidates over Labor.

Mr Nanabawa, a former Labor activist from the British midlands, said the UK group had been providing counsel and guidance to MVM leadership on tricks of the trade but also on how to avoid the possible pitfalls it had identified through its own campaign.

The Muslim Vote UK national co-ordinator Abubakr Nanabawa.

Independent Watson candidate Ziad Basyouny. Picture: Nikki Short

“We’ve been having conversations with them, imparting advice and feedback based on our experience in the UK,” he said, noting the differences between the British first-past-the-post system and Australia’s preferential voting, but also with each country’s diverse Muslim community.

“The localisation of these campaigns is what makes them successful. It’s going to be fascinating to see how it works in a very different electoral system.”

The UK group says it has not been in contact with its Australian namesake, The Muslim Vote AU, which has taken a more behind-the-scenes role than Mr Krayem’s organisation.

The similarities between the pair’s names and websites, the UK side said, was coincidence.

Australia’s TMV has opened candidate applications to contest Labor-held Parramatta.

Mr Nanabawa warned against centralising or defacto running candidates, saying their success was borne out of community campaigns emerging organically.

“We never specifically pushed for each community to run their campaigns or candidates,” he said.

“(The organisation was) set up to encourage people to unify behind one credible, alternative candidate.”

Mr Nanabawa said his organisation made clear that each electorate-based campaign had the final say, whether that be to organise a candidate or back a specific party.

“Ultimately it boiled down to what the local groups wanted,” he said. “We never ran ‘Muslim Vote’ candidates, it was in each case people chosen from local communities and groups.”

The first candidate to emerge in Australia is Ziad Basyouny, looking to unseat Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke in the southwest Sydney electorate of Watson.

But his campaign hit a snag this month after October Facebook posts emerged where he appeared to praise Hamas. In one, Dr Basyouny shared an image of a paraglider shooting bullets – akin to the Hamas assault on October 7 – portraying it as a “dream” come true.

Jewish leaders, the Coalition and teal independents slammed Dr Basyouny, saying anyone holding or espousing those views should not be elected.

Opposition Leader Peter Dutton said Dr Basyouny did not “deserve” to be in parliament, urging Anthony Albanese to refuse to direct preferences to him, although the candidate said he “didn’t support the attacks on civilians … killing civilians is never right”.