Muslim Votes Matter has filed a complaint with the Victorian Electoral Commission against an anonymous attempt to register a political party with the same name, claiming it misleads voters ahead of the state election.
Key points
Muslim Votes Matter filed a complaint with the Victorian Electoral Commission
Anonymous bid to register a political party under the same name
Accusation of misleading voters ahead of the state election
MVM is a grassroots advocacy movement for Muslim representation
Avi Yemini is linked to the anonymous registration attempt
Mentioned in this story
Muslim Votes MatterAvi YeminiVictoria
Muslim Votes Matter (MVM) has complained to the Victorian Electoral Commission over an anonymous bid to register a political party under the same name ahead of the state election, accusing it of deliberately misleading voters.
While MVM is not itself a registered political party, it endorsed candidates and distributed how-to-vote cards at the federal election and intends to do the same at Victoria’s November poll.
But last week, rightwing provocateur Avi Yemini posted a YouTube video claiming an unnamed associate had planned to register a political party using the name Muslim Votes Matter.
It follows Yemini’s plan to register a “Free Palestine party” and use it to funnel votes to conservative parties, which was inspired by anti-lockdown activist Monica Smit’s announcement in February that she would seek to register a “Save the Environment party” to attempt to influence the state election result.
Yemini and Smit’s plans rely on Victoria’s upper house remaining the only house of parliament in Australia still using the group voting ticket system (GVTs), in which voters are only able to choose one party above the line on the ballot paper. The voters’ preferences are then allocated by the party if it is knocked out during counting.
The system has allowed backroom deals between parties to flourish, with some candidates getting elected with only a minuscule number of primary votes.
Yemini’s video said Muslim Votes Matter was seeking members to join the party so it could register with the VEC and if successful, it would ultimately direct preferences to One Nation. A party needs at least 500 eligible members to be registered in Victoria, according to the VEC, but Yemini and the Muslim Votes Matter group are each seeking 750.
“This party is designed to capture voters being pushed to divide this country and redirect those preferences straight back to the people who want to unite this country under one flag,” Yemini said.
Q&A
What is the complaint filed by Muslim Votes Matter about?
Muslim Votes Matter has complained about an anonymous bid to register a political party under its name, alleging it aims to mislead voters.
Who is behind the anonymous bid to register the party Muslim Votes Matter?
The anonymous bid is linked to rightwing provocateur Avi Yemini, who claimed an unnamed associate intends to register the party.
What is the purpose of the Muslim Votes Matter organization?
Muslim Votes Matter is a grassroots movement advocating for political representation for Muslim and minority groups in Australia.
How does Muslim Votes Matter plan to participate in the upcoming state election?
Muslim Votes Matter intends to endorse candidates and distribute how-to-vote cards during Victoria's November poll.
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“That’s right – Muslim Votes Matters will be preferencing One Nation.”
Yemeni said the three political groups would be “tapping into different voting blocs” but ultimately directing their preferences “back to One Nation and other conservatives”.
“We’ve got Save the Environment harvesting the climate vote. We’ve got Free Palestine targeting the hate vote and now Muslim Votes Matter to capture this growing migrant group that’s been cynically mobilised to vote against us,” he said.
Ghaith Krayem, the national spokesperson for MVM, said the attempt to register a party under an identical name was a deliberate strategy to mislead voters.
“There should be stronger rules around the registration [of] these political parties where there is clear evidence that they are intending to mislead people,” he said.
“There has to be a very strong vetting process so that people are not misled by the name of the political party.”
Krayem confirmed MVM lodged a complaint with the Victorian Electoral Commission on Thursday about the proposed party.
He said its name was “misleadingly similar to legitimate Muslim voter engagement initiatives” and risked confusing Muslim voters at the ballot box.
Krayem said MVM also raised concerns about the site appearing to collect personal information without a clear privacy policy.
“We have asked the AEC and the VEC to investigate whether the website breaches electoral laws, privacy obligations, and requirements around electoral authorisation,” he said.
A spokesperson for the VEC would not confirm it had received the complaint, citing privacy reasons. They said the VEC would be unable to process applications for new or updated registered political parties until the writ for the Nepean byelection was returned on or before 23 May.
Previously, the VEC has said all applications to register a political party were assessed in accordance with the legislative requirements in the electoral act. They said as part of the process, any person who believed the application should be refused could submit an objection.
Reasons to object include an incorrect application, an obscene party name, or if the name or logo is not allowable. However, the spokesperson said an “objection cannot be raised on the grounds that a party’s name does not express the party’s ‘true’ character or that the party’s policies are objectionable”.
Guardian Australia attempted to contact the new Muslim Votes Matter group. But the email listed on its website bounced and no other contact details were available.
One Nation, the Coalition, the Greens and two Labor-led parliamentary inquiries have all called for GVTs to be scrapped.
