The Chairperson of the ACT Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Elected Body has notified the Electoral Commissioner that one of the Elected Body’s members, Mr Jacob Keed, has resigned his position on the Elected Body.

‘I am now required to announce the vacancy and call for applications from the unsuccessful candidates at the 2021 Elected Body election who still live in the ACT and who wish to contest the vacancy,’ the Electoral Commissioner, Damian Cantwell AM CSC said today.

Mr Keed became a member of the Elected Body following his success in a previous casual vacancy following the resignation of Ms Margaret Blackman. Ms Blackman was one of seven original members of the Elected Body following the 2021 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Elected Body general election. As vacancies on the Elected Body are filled by distributing the votes received by the former member elected at the general election, in effect, those voters who voted for Ms Blackman will determine Mr Keed’s replacement.

‘To begin the formal process for filling the vacancy, I placed an advertisement in The Canberra Times on Monday, 9 October 2023 inviting candidates who stood unsuccessfully at the 2021 election to contest the vacancy. Those candidates have 10 days from that date to apply to contest the vacancy, if they wish to do so,’ Mr Cantwell said.

Applications will close at 12 noon on Wednesday 18 October 2023. ‘A declaration of the names of the candidates who wish to contest the vacancy will be made at 12.30 pm that day,’ Mr Cantwell said.

‘If more than one candidate applies to contest the vacancy, a distribution of the votes received by Ms Blackman will take place at the Elections ACT office at 2 pm on 18 October 2023 in order to determine the successful candidate to fill the vacancy following Mr Keed’s resignation,’ Mr Cantwell said.