Muslim Votes Matter targets hung parliament in federal election push

The advocacy group wants to shake up the next federal election and aims to hold the Liberal and Labor parties accountable for their ‘failed’ stance on the Israel-Palestine conflict.

Australian advocacy group Muslim Votes Matter (MVM) is prepared to back the Greens and teals over Labor in the next federal election, aiming to hold both the government and the Liberals accountable for what it calls a “failed” response to the Israel-Palestine conflict.

MVM will launch a national campaign in Melbourne on Sunday, featuring high-profile speakers and drawing strategic insights from a UK expert who played a pivotal role in a similar movement during the recent British elections.

Rather than fielding its own candidates, the group plans to back those whose values align with its priorities.

The campaign’s agenda will include discussions on conditions of the war in Gaza, the recent successes of Muslim candidates in the UK, and the potential impact of a hung parliament on Australian policies.

The Israel-Gaza conflict has been spruiked as a catalyst to launch the national campaign, which will operate on the ground in every state except for Darwin and Hobart.

Muslim Votes Matter national representative Ghaith Krayem says both major parties will be held to account in the next federal election.

MVM national representative Ghaith Krayem told The Australian the campaign will not support any political party en masse, but instead, it will make recommendations to the community on how they should vote in each electorate across the country.

“Our aim is to hold all those politicians who had an opportunity to speak up and do something to prevent the unfolding genocide to account,” Mr Krayem said. “Obviously, the Greens and some of the teals have been much more supportive of the Gazan people in the last 10 months in parliament and that is going to be something that we very much take into account.

“If contributing to a hung parliament helps achieve these objectives by holding major parties accountable and requiring them to engage more deeply with our community, then indeed this would align with our goals … Ultimately, our focus is on long-term empowerment and ensuring that our community’s concerns are addressed in the political process.”

Asked if religion has a place in Australian politics, Mr Krayem said: “We only need to go back to our last prime minister, Scott Morrison, who was an avowed Christian and made no issue of the fact that his faith played a role in his political positions.”

Traditionally, the focus on preferential voting has been on how minor parties and independents distribute preferences. However, as the primary votes of the major parties decline, and those of minor parties and independents increase, teals and the Greens in particular will have a greater presence.

The MVM Western Australia leader Dr Naser Alziyadat claimed that across Australia, there were more than 20 seats where Muslims could have the deciding vote.

“In the last 25 years, no federal government has been elected by more than a 15-seat margin. This positions us strategically to support candidates who prioritise our issues and challenge those who neglect our community,” Dr Alziyadat said.

Co-founder of the Muslim Voices of Calwell Nail Aykan, a respected community leader in Victoria, called it a “golden opportunity” for Muslim Australians.

Mr Aykan will speak at the launch of the MVM campaign about the prospect of having a hung parliament in the federal elections.

“The opportunity before us is incredible, if the Muslim community is present in 20 seats and they’re able to influence some of them, then that leads to no one party getting an outright majority, that will result in some sort of power sharing arrangements with a new government being formed,” he said.

“If the trajectory is that both the two major parties have been losing on the primary votes, the teal independents and the minor parties, in particular the Greens, will have a greater presence.”

UK-based medical doctor and former assistant secretary-general of the Muslim Council of Britain, Wajid Akhter, is set to bring a wealth of “strategic insights” to the MVM campaign. Mr Akhter played a pivotal role in the recent British elections, where five independent pro-Palestine candidates claimed victories in constituencies long dominated by the UK Labour Party.

Meanwhile, independent candidate Dr Ziad Basyouny has taken on the task of challenging Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke for the Labor stronghold of Watson in Western Sydney.

MVM is one of two grassroots groups in Australia hoping to emulate that success by backing candidates who align with its values and policy priorities.

It began earlier this year with a goal of driving “greater electorate participation and voting literacy” among Australian Muslim and minority communities, after what the group said were gaps in the current political landscape that had become “difficult to ignore”.

A separate organisation with similar aims called The Muslim Vote also formed this year out of Western Sydney.