THE first results are coming in for seven local council elections across central Victoria as officials grapple with record turnouts.
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Carolyn Stewart and David Pollard have comfortably won Buloke Shire's Lower Avoca ward.
Three people vied for the small rural shire's only contested ward of 1638 voters, which encompasses Charlton and surrounds.
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Third-placed Kelvin Getley secured 9.96 per cent of the vote, or 134 first preference ballots.
Candidates in that ward needed 449 votes to win a seat.
Stewart amassed just over half of the ward's votes while Pollard took just under 40 per cent.
The Buloke Shire is among the smaller of the region's councils and candidates only competed for one of its three wards.
Alan Ronald Getley and David Vis ran unopposed for the Mallee ward's two seats at the council table. The ward that includes Sea Lake.
Darryl Warron, Graeme Leon Milne and Bronwyn Simpson ran unopposed for the Mount Jeffcott ward, an area that encompasses Donald and Birchip.
The VEC had scheduled a number of councils' results to be made available from as early as last Friday, including Maryborough's Central Goldfields Shire, Castlemaine's Mount Alexander Shire and Pyramid Hill's Loddon Shire.
However, some results have been delayed as the VEC grapples with huge voter turnout in elections across central Victoria and the rest of the state.
Many areas had already eclipsed 2016 voter levels two days into the count last Tuesday and officials were expecting something akin to 2005's all time record.
It prompted the VEC to declare it would not be rushed into endangering public health as it tallied ballots.
Kyneton's Macedon Ranges Shire's results were scheduled to be released tonight.
The City of Greater Bendigo's results are expected to be released from Wednesday.
We will bring them to you as they are released.
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