Two weeks after voting closed, the nine councillors to be appointed to the Mitchell Shire Council for the next four years have been announced.
According to the Victorian Electoral Commission, 29,037 formal votes were cast, with 80.46 per cent voter turnout across all three of the Mitchell Shire wards.
In the North Ward, Ned Jeffery was first elected, John Dougall second elected and Andrea Pace third elected, the latter prevailing on preferences having trailed Bill Chisholm by nearly two per cent after first preference votes were counted.
In the Central Ward, Timothy Hanson was first elected, incumbent deputy mayor Nathan Clark was second elected and Bob Humm was third elected, each gaining more than 20 per cent of first preference votes.
It was a decisive win for Riley Evans in the South Ward, gaining 37.95 per cent of first preference votes to be first elected, while Bob Cornish and Claudia James were second and third elected, respectively.
Election manager Chris Chadwick declared the result at 3pm on Friday, November 8, at the council chambers in Broadford, before the councillors were officially sworn in at a ceremony on Monday evening.
Crs Clark and Cornish are the only two incumbents to be re-elected for the upcoming term, with the only other councillors to run for re-election, David Lowe (South Ward) and Bill Chisholm (North Ward), failing in their bids for another term.
Bob Humm returns having previously served as a councillor, but missing re-election during the 2020 election, while Timothy Hanson, Ned Jeffery, John Dougall, Andrea Pace, Riley Evans and Claudia James will be serving their first term.
The new mayor and deputy mayor will be elected at a statutory meeting on Monday, November 18.