The 2020 Victorian local elections were held on 24 October 2020 to elect the councils of 76 of the 79 local government areas in Victoria, Australia. Several councils also held mayoral elections.

Background
The elections were held amid the COVID-19 Pandemic in Australia, with Melbourne still in lockdown at the time of the elections. A survey conducted in April 2020 showed that a significant majority of councils wanted the elections postponed for a year. However, Minister for Local Government Shaun Leane announced on 19 August that the elections would go ahead as scheduled.

Casey City Council was dismissed in February 2020, and no election was conducted.

Eight councils changed their electoral structure ahead of the election, moving to single-member wards:

Bayside City Council
Cardinia Shire Council
Darebin City Council
Greater Dandenong City Council
Kingston City Council
Manningham City Council
Maroondah City Council
Whitehorse City Council

Additionally, Swan Hill and Mansfield moved to an unsubdivided structure.

Political parties
The Liberal Party does not endorse candidates for local elections in Victoria. Labor chose to endorse some candidates, and some local party branches also made their own endorsements. Australian Progressives co-founder Peter Wingate contested Yarraville Ward in Maribyrnong as the party's first ever local elections candidate.

Labor endorsed a total of 37 candidates in the following LGAs:
Ballarat (6 candidates)
Maribyrnong (7 candidates)
Melbourne (3 candidates, plus 2 in the mayoral election)
Moonee Valley (6 candidates)
Moreland (5 candidates)
Yarra (5 candidates)

Additionally, the Labor Members for Darebin group endorsed 10 candidates (later disendorsing one). The ALP distanced themselves from the group, saying they did not endorse any candidates in Darebin.

9 other VEC-registered parties endorsed candidates:
The Greens (88 candidates)
Victorian Socialists (19 candidates)
Animal Justice Party (16 candidates)
Liberal Democrats (10 candidates)
Reason Party (7 candidates)
Sustainable Australia Party (6 candidates)

Party changes before elections
A number of councillors joined or left parties before the 2020 elections.

Results

Aftermath

Yarra City Council was described Australia's "most left-wing local government" with The Greens receiving a majority and two independent socialists, including Stephen Jolly, elected. However, Gabrielle de Vietri resigned after winning the seat of Richmond and was replaced via countback by independent Michael Glynatsis, and Amanda Stone quit the party in February 2023.

In November 2021, Moreland councillor Oscar Yildiz was part of the formation of the Victorians Party, a centrist political party which planned to contest the 2022 state election. Along with Yildiz, fellow Moreland councillor Helen Pavlidis-Mihalakos and Melbourne councillor Philip Le Liu joined the party, giving it 3 local government seats. The party disbanded in August 2022, citing financial difficulties.

The United Australia Party gained its first local councillor in Victoria in May 2022, when Swan Hill councillor Stuart King joined the party to contest Mallee at the federal election.

The City of Moreland was renamed to Merri-bek in September 2022.

On 7 February 2023, Merri-bek councillor James Conlan resigned from The Greens in solidarity with senator Lidia Thorpe, who had also left the party the day before.

Two minor parties, the Angry Victorians Party and Restore Democracy Sack Dan Andrews, gained councillors in 2023 via different countbacks.

Electoral fraud allegations
In February 2022, Labor councillor Milad El-Halabi resigned after being charged with conspiracy to cheat and defraud for allegedly tampering with the council elections in Moreland. He was replaced via countback in March 2022 by Socialist Alliance's Monica Harte.

On 31 March 2023, the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal found that El-Halabi was unduly elected. He has denied all allegations.

By-elections and countbacks
The Victorian Electoral Commission has held a number of by-elections  and countbacks to fill vacancies on councils since the 2020 elections.

By-elections

Countbacks

References

Local elections in Australia
Elections in Victoria (state)
Elections in Australia
2020 Victorian local elections
2020 elections in Australia