An Act to provide for the Election of Lord Mayors, Definition of the Authority of Lord Mayors, the Establishment of Local Councils, and for connected purposes

Preface

1. This Act will be known as the Local Government Act, Bill 9143, 2026.

Election of Lord Mayors

2. The lord mayors of each county will be directly elected on an annual basis. The existing lord mayors at the moment of the enactment of this act shall retain office until the next scheduled mayoral general elections.
3. Each eligible elector within a county will be entitled to mark a preference for as many lord mayoral candidates as they wish. When the votes are counted, only the elector’s first-preference votes will be counted.
4. Should no candidate receive a majority of the votes counted, the candidate with the fewest votes will be eliminated, and ballots with the candidate marked as the first preference will be recounted with only the second preference votes counted. This process will continue until a candidate is elected with a majority of the vote.
5. In cases of a tie, the returning officer will break the tie. The Chief Election Commissioner will act as the returning officer for all mayoral elections.
6. All electors who are eligible to vote in a parliamentary election will be entitled to vote for the lord mayor.
7. Any citizen of Baustralia who is eligible to stand for election as a Member of Parliament may nominate themselves or be nominated by another citizen to be a candidate for lord mayor. Prospective candidates will require one nomination.
8. Candidates may be nominated four weeks prior to the mayoral election, or two weeks in cases of a mayoral by-election.
9. Elections for lord mayors occur on the first Thursday of March. The term of the lord mayor will begin and expire on the 15th March at Noon. In cases of a mayoral by-election, the lord mayor assumes office immediately, and their term expires following the scheduled mayoral general election.
10. In cases of a vacancy in a given lord mayoralty, the Secretary of State shall instruct the Election Commission of Baustralia to organise a mayoral by-election within the given county to elect a new lord mayor who shall serve until the expiry of the lord mayor’s term under Section 8 of this Act. No mayoral by-election shall be held if the vacancy occurs less than two months prior to a mayoral general election.
11. Section 35 of the Parliamentary Reform Act, 2024 shall omit “elections to Parliament, including a general election and a by-election” and insert “parliamentary general elections, parliamentary by-elections, mayoral general elections and mayoral by-elections”.

Functions of the Lord Mayor

12. The lord mayor shall:
1. Act as the returning officer for any parliamentary elections for ridings located within the county in which the lord mayor represents.
2. Prioritise that all citizens comply with the policies enacted by the Election Commission of Baustralia to ensure that they are able to vote in parliamentary and mayoral elections.
3. Represent the county in which they are elected lord mayor.
13. The office of lord mayor may be vacated upon:
1. The death of the lord mayor.
2. The citizenship of the lord mayor being revoked.
3. The lord mayor informing the Secretary of State of his intention to resign the office of lord mayor.
14. During vacancies of the office of lord mayor, the alderman shall serve as lord mayor until the beginning of the term of the subsequent lord mayor.

Aldermen

15. The Crown, on the advice of the Cabinet, shall appoint an alderman in each county who will hold office at the pleasure of the Crown.
16. No person may hold the office of alderman and lord mayor simultaneously except in cases of the alderman serving as lord mayor under Section 14 of this Act.

Local Councils

17. The Secretary of State or any Member of Parliament representing the relevant county may introduce a motion to the Parliament, to form a county council within a specific county that reads: “This House empowers the minister of the crown responsible for local government to form a county council in the County of county name, to assist the Election Commission of Baustralia to organise local elections to county name County Council and to agree a devolution agreement with county name County Council following its formation.”
18. County Councils shall have the right to:
1. Adopt a county flag.
2. Request a county heraldic achievement from the College of Arms.
3. Determine its own standing orders.
4. Negotiate, through their executive, with the Government for a change to that county council’s devolution agreement.
5. Elect their own executive, consisting of a chairperson and other optional officers that the county council may create.
19. Upon the convening of a county council following its first election, the executive of the county council will agree to a devolution agreement with the Government which shall involve the Parliament formally devolving certain extra authority to the county council, should the executive and the Government agree to do so.