Zeli Munjiza leads the current by-election count by more than 6,800 first-preference votes, with Liberal candidate Azam Dabbagh conceding on election night while the formal count continues.
Labor looks set to regain the vacant South Ward seat on Liverpool City Council, with the NSW Electoral Commission’s Saturday-night first-preference report showing Zeli Munjiza on 16,973 votes (37.21%), ahead of Azam Dabbagh on 10,152 votes (22.25%).
That picture was reinforced when Dabbagh publicly conceded to Munjiza later that night. The formal process is still continuing, but politically the result now appears to be largely settled.
It is also worth being clear about what this vote was, and what it was not. This was not an election for all of South Ward’s seats. It was a single-ward by-election to fill the casual vacancy created after former Deputy Mayor Dr Betty Green resigned earlier this year. NSWEC says only South Ward electors could vote in this poll, and Liverpool City Council said Dr Green resigned mid-term, citing health reasons.
Behind the top two, the field remained spread out. Alanna Humphries (IND) finished the night on 7.93%, Deb Gurung (CVA) on 7.70%, Michael Byrne (IND) on 5.67%, and Jamil Azeem on 5.08%. That left Munjiza clearly ahead, Dabbagh clearly second, and no single non-major challenger emerging as an alternative front-runner.
Turnout is one of the other big points to watch. NSWEC’s results page lists 84,632 electors in South Ward and 22,346 early votes as at the Saturday morning update. The Saturday night tally showed 49,018 ballot papers counted, including 45,617 formal and 3,401 informal. It also still showed Casula Pre-Poll yet to be counted, while Horningsea Park Pre-Poll and Wattle Grove Pre-Poll had figures posted. That means the overall turnout picture was incomplete and likely to rise as more votes are added. On an indicative basis, turnout may finish somewhere around the high-60s to low-70s, but that remains an estimate rather than an official final figure.
The formal process still has some way to run. NSWEC says postal votes can be received until 6pm Friday 1 May 2026, the check count runs until Monday 4 May 2026, and the distribution of preferences is scheduled for the week commencing Monday 4 May 2026.
While the result now appears politically settled, Local Pulse will keep following the numbers as the remaining votes are processed and preferences begin to flow, with further analysis to come as the final margin and broader voting patterns become clearer.
Sources: NSW Electoral Commission; Liverpool City Council; Azam Dabbagh (via Facebook); Zeli Munjiza (via Facebook).
