2024 Cumberland City Council election

2024 Cumberland City Council election

←  2021 14 September 2024 2028 →
All 15 seats on Cumberland City Council 8 seats needed for a majority
Registered	133,113 [1]
Turnout	81.4%
First party Second party Third party   OLC Leader N/A N/A Paul Garrard Party Labor Liberal OLC Last election 8 seats Did not contest 4 seats Seats before 8 2 3 Seats won 5 4 3 Seat change 3 2 Primary  vote 31,340 23,959 15,001 Percentage 31.7% 24.2% 15.2% Swing 31.7 11.4 [a] 15.2   Fourth party Fifth party Sixth party   IND PNP Leader N/A Eddy Sarkis Sujan Selven Party Independents People Not Politics Greens Last election 0 seats Did not exist 0 seats Seats before 0 1 0 Seats won 1 1 1 Seat change 1 1 Primary  vote 10,922 8,044 3,952 Percentage 11.0% 8.1% 4.0% Swing 10.0 8.1 1.2

The 2024 Cumberland City Council election was held on 14 September 2024 to elect 15 councillors to Cumberland City Council. ^[2] The election was held as part of the statewide local government elections in New South Wales. ^[3]

The Labor Party lost its majority but remained the largest party on the council, winning five seats. ^[4] The Liberal Party gained four seats after returning to endorsing candidates, while Our Local Community won three. ^[5] Additionally, the Greens won a seat in Cumberland for the first time. ^[5]

Background

At the 2017 election, the Liberal Party won four seats and 26.2% of the council-wide vote. ^[2] In 2021, the party chose not to endorse any candidates in Cumberland, with two Independent Liberals – Joseph Rahme (Granville Ward) and Michael Zaiter (Wentworthville Ward) – elected. ^{[6] [7]}

Greystanes Ward councillor Eddy Sarkis resigned from Our Local Community in February 2024 after losing preselection. ^[8]

Electoral system

Like in all other New South Wales local government areas (LGAs), Cumberland City Council elections use optional preferential voting. ^[9] Under this system, voters are only required to vote for one candidate or group, although they can choose to preference other candidates. ^[10]

All elections for councillor positions are elected using proportional representation. ^[11] Cumberland has an Australian Senate-style ballot paper with above-the-line and below-the-line voting. ^[12] The council is divided into five wards, each electing three councillors. ^[2]

The election was conducted by the New South Wales Electoral Commission (NSWEC). ^{[13] [14]}

Retiring councillors

Labor

• Sabrin Farooqui (Regents Park) – lost preselection on 17 February 2024 ^[15]
• Kun Huang (Regents Park) – lost preselection on 17 February 2024 ^[15]

Candidates

Former Auburn mayor Ronney Oueik contested South Granville Ward. ^{[16] [17]} Tony Oldfield, who was elected to Auburn City Council in 2012 as a member of the Communist Party of Australia, ran in Regents Park Ward as a Battler candidate. ^{[18] [19]}

Eddy Sarkis and Zac Alameh both contested as "People Not Party Politics" candidates. ^{[20] [21] [22] [23]}

Granville

Our Local Community (Group A)	Liberal (Group B)	Labor (Group C)	Ungrouped
Steve Christou Najib Najibulla Samantha Sleiman	Joseph Rahme Marie Issa Jamie Sleiman	Ola Hamed Joshika Naidu John Treloar	David Appleby (Ind)

Greystanes

Labor (Group A)	People Not Politics (Group B)	The Independents (Group C)	Liberal (Group D)
Diane Colman Manu Devana Bob Hockey	Eddy Sarkis Manju Maheswaran Moreen Stephenson	Greg Cummings John Brodie Ray Semaan	Nadima Kafrouni-Saba Abraham Agopian Jasmine Issa

Regents Park

Independent (Group A)	Our Local Community (Group B)	Battler (Group C)	Liberal (Group D)	Labor (Group E)
Andrew Quah Mohamed Hassan Youwei Chung	Helen Hughes Charles Barden David Miller	Tony Oldfield Elizabeth Hanham Michael Stanislas	Steve Yang Estate John Park Alexander Kim	Enver Yasar Rafah Chalabi Michelle Joyce

South Granville

Independent (Group A)	Our Local Community (Group B)	Independent (Group C)
Ronney Oueik Haisheng Shi Ahmad Faizi	Paul Garrard Jeffrey Sun Margaret Allen	Ahmed Ouf Marwa Mosallam Selim Khalil
Liberal (Group D)	Battler (Group E)	Labor (Group F)
Ned Attie Fouad El-Ashwah Zaynoun Atie	Luke Ahern Ali Farhat Talb Humady	Glenn Elmore Mohamad Hussein Eda Tegin

Wentworthville

Greens (Group A)	People Not Politics (Group B)	Independent (Group C)
Sujan Selven Balaji Naranapatti Dorothea Newland	Zac Alameh Sai Darmarajah Nikita Desai	Mark Pigram Annie Staples Paul Axiak
Liberal (Group D)	Labor (Group E)	Ungrouped
Michael Zaiter Noelle Diab Melissa Rahme	Suman Saha Lisa Lake Thiru Arumugam	Elena Yakovleva (Ind)

Results

Ward results

2024 Cumberland City Council election: Ward results ^[24]

Party			Votes	%	Swing	Seats	Change
	Labor		31,340	31.7	−16.9	5	3
	Liberal		23,959	24.2	+11.4 [a]	4	2 [a]
	Our Local Community		15,001	15.2	−13.1	3	1
	Independents		10,922	11.0	+10.0	1	1
	People Not Party Politics		8,044	8.1	+8.1	1	1
	Greens		3,952	4.0	+1.2	1	1
	The Independents		3,903	3.9	−2.6	0	1
	Battler		1,848	1.9	+1.9	0
Formal votes			98,969	91.3
Informal votes			9,368	8.7
Total			108,337	100.0		15
Registered voters / turnout			133,113	81.4

Granville

2024 Cumberland City Council election: Granville Ward

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labor	1. Ola Hamed (elected 1) 2. Joshika Naidu 3. John Treloar	6,726	34.5	−8.0
	Our Local Community	1. Steve Christou (elected 2) 2. Najib Najibulla 3. Samantha Sleiman	6,274	32.2	−0.2
	Liberal	1. Joseph Rahme (elected 3) 2. Marie Issa 3. Jamie Sleiman	6,247	32.1	+10.0
	Independent	David Appleby	229	1.2
Total formal votes			19,476	90.3
Informal votes			2,100	9.7
Turnout			21,576	79.1

Greystanes

2024 Cumberland City Council election: Greystanes Ward

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labor	1. Diane Colman (elected 1) 2. Manu Devana 3. Bob Hockey	6,310	29.7	−3.2
	People Not Party Politics	1. Eddy Sarkis (elected 2) 2. Manju Maheswaran 3. Moreen Stephenson	5,821	27.4	−7.4
	Liberal	1. Nadima Kafrouni-Saba (elected 3) 2. Abraham Agopian 3. Jasmine Issa	5,224	24.6	+23.0
	The Independents	1. Greg Cummings 2. John Brodie 3. Ray Semaan	3,903	18.4	−12.3
Total formal votes			21,258	92.3
Informal votes			1,765	7.7
Turnout			23,023	85.5

Regents Park

2024 Cumberland City Council election: Regents Park Ward

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labor	1. Enver Yasar (elected 1) 2. Rafah Chalabi 3. Michelle Joyce	7,049	36.3	−23.4
	Our Local Community	1. Helen Hughes (elected 2) 2. Charles Barden 3. David Miller	4,876	25.1	+5.6
	Liberal	1. Steve Yang (elected 3) 2. Estate John Park 3. Alexander Kim	3,584	18.5	+2.0
	Independent	1. Andrew Quah 2. Mohamed Hassan 3. Youwei Chung	2,559	13.2	+13.2
	Battler	1. Tony Oldfield 2. Elizabeth Hanham 3. Michael Stanislas	1,352	7.0	+7.0
Total formal votes			19,420	92.2
Informal votes			1,641	7.8
Turnout			21,061	84.2

South Granville

2024 Cumberland City Council election: South Granville Ward

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	1. Ahmed Ouf (elected 1) 2. Marwa Mosallam 3. Selim Khalil	4,240	24.0	+24.0
	Our Local Community	1. Paul Garrard (elected 2) 2. Jeffrey Sun 3. Margaret Allen	3,851	21.8	−13.3
	Labor	1. Glenn Elmore (elected 3) 2. Mohamad Hussein 3. Eda Tegin	3,792	21.5	−43.4
	Independent	1. Ronney Oueik 2. Haisheng Shi 3. Ahmad Faizi	2,963	16.8	+16.8
	Liberal	1. Ned Attie 2. Fouad El-Ashwah 3. Zaynoun Atie	2,302	13.1	+13.1
	Battler	1. Luke Ahern 2. Ali Farhat 3. Talb Humady	496	2.8	+2.8
Total formal votes			17,644	88.3
Informal votes			2,346	11.7
Turnout			19,990	76.3

Wentworthville

2024 Cumberland City Council election: Wentworthville Ward

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labor	1. Suman Saha (elected 1) 2. Lisa Lake 3. Thiru Arumugam	7,463	35.3	−10.2
	Liberal	1. Michael Zaiter (elected 2) 2. Noelle Diab 3. Melissa Rahme	6,602	31.2	+9.4
	Greens	1. Sujan Selven (elected 3) 2. Balaji Naranapatti 3. Dorothea Newland	3,952	18.7	+5.1
	People Not Party Politics	1. Zac Alameh 2. Sai Darmarajah 3. Nikita Desai	2,223	10.5	+10.5
	Independent	1. Mark Pigram 2. Annie Staples 3. Paul Axiak	858	4.1	+4.1
	Independent	Elena Yakovleva	73	0.3	+0.3
Total formal votes			21,171	93.3
Informal votes			1,516	6.7
Turnout			22,687	81.9

Notes

1. Compared with Independent Liberals in 2021.

References

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5. "2024 Local Government Elections Brief" (PDF). Western Sydney Leadership Dialogue. 1 October 2024. Archived from the original (PDF) on 13 March 2025. Retrieved 12 December 2025.
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14. Maddison, Max (20 September 2024). "'A Labor Party hit job': Fury at move to outlaw private companies running council elections". Sydney Morning Herald. Archived from the original on 8 October 2024. Retrieved 12 December 2025.
15. Vella, Joanne (1 July 2024). "Hopefuls running for Cumberland in 2024 local government elections". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 1 July 2024. Retrieved 24 December 2025.
16. Vella, Joanne (27 August 2024). "Former Auburn mayor Ronney Oueik to contest Cumberland City Council election". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 27 August 2024. Retrieved 24 December 2025.
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19. "The Battle for Cumberland Council". Communist Party of Australia. 7 October 2024. Archived from the original on 7 October 2024. Retrieved 24 December 2025.
20. "Representing PEOPLE NOT PARTY POLITICS". Facebook. Councillor Eddy Sarkis. 4 September 2024. Archived from the original on 7 September 2024. Retrieved 7 September 2024.
21. "Representing PEOPLE NOT PARTY POLITICS". Facebook. Zac Alameh. 4 September 2024. Archived from the original on 7 September 2024. Retrieved 7 September 2024.
22. "VOTE 1". Facebook. Zac Alameh. 6 September 2024. Archived from the original on 7 September 2024. Retrieved 7 September 2024.
23. "VOTE 1". Facebook. Councillor Eddy Sarkis. 4 July 2024. Archived from the original on 7 September 2024. Retrieved 7 September 2024.
24. "The Independents putting you, the resident/ratepayer, first". Facebook. Greg Cummings For Greystanes Ward Cumberland Council. 22 August 2024. Archived from the original on 7 September 2024. Retrieved 7 September 2024.