Seventy-two councils held postal elections, while another six had residents going to the polls last Saturday.

Ballarat had opted for postal voting – like most councils across Victoria – it takes several days to count the ballot papers.

Victorian Electoral Commission spokesman Mike Lagastes told The Courier on Friday morning calculation of Ballarat’s  council election votes was expected by 10am on Sunday.

He said the VEC were still accepting postal votes which were sent on the date the election closed up until midday on Friday.

“If there were a big number of additional postal votes to calculate as a result it may cause delays in the process,” he said.

“But we anticipate, at this stage, all votes will be counted by 10am on Sunday.”

Municipal Association of Victoria chief executive Rob Spence said early results statewide showed a strong vote for incumbents, indicating people were happy with their councillors’ performance.

However, he said, voter turnout seemed low with “election fatigue” thought to play a part.

Twenty-eight Ballarat residents have officially announced their intention to throw their hat in the City of Ballarat ring earlier this year.

The highest number of candidates for the city’s three wards was 12 residents standing in the city’s south ward.