A new Muslim political movement backing independent candidates says Labor will have itself to blame if Peter Dutton wins the next election, and that people should not assume the candidates they support will preference Labor.
Sheikh Wesam Charkawi, one of the conveners behind the Muslim Vote movement, said the group would be aiming to support “at least five candidates” in New South Wales and Victoria.
Speaking to Guardian Australia this week, he dismissed concerns a surge of independents in Labor-held seats would hand government to the Coalition.
“Labor is in power at the end of the day. If Dutton gets in, or even if a Liberal wins a seat as an inadvertent consequence to the group’s campaigning, that is Labor’s fault, that’s not the community’s fault,” he said.
“They created this movement through their decisions, and people shouldn’t assume we will be preferencing Labor. This isn’t personal – this is about constituents feeling Labor has failed them.”
Charkawi said the Muslim Vote had already amassed a volunteer base of more than 2,000 people, and that he was working with a team of 35 people motivated by the government’s “weak” response to Israel’s bombardment of Gaza.
“This movement was born out of the need to stand for justice. All of our eyes are fixed on the injustice in Gaza. Something needed to be done and so a decision to mobilise was made,” he said.
“This is a volunteer organisation, top to bottom. People want to act, they feel helpless and powerless, they are angered by the government’s weak stance.”
He said Labor had “failed” to represent its base of constituents, which included many pro-Palestinian communities.
“We will not give them the privilege of representing us any longer. When we needed to hear their voices, when their voices mattered, they failed us.”
He said Gaza was “front and centre” to their movement, and that he would not “play games” by implying it wasn’t. He said he believed the anger and hurt surrounding the cause was enough to impact seats, across communities.
Charkawi said the group believed success at the next election would be turning the safe Labor electorates they are targeting into marginal seats.
The Albanese government called for a ceasefire in July, 10 months after Israel began bombarding the enclave, leading to the deaths of more than 40,000 people.
But Charkawi said there were other contributing factors to the Muslim Vote’s creation including frustration at the Islamophobia Australian Muslims have faced, saying the hatred they have copped since 9/11 has “crystallised into mobilisation”.
The first candidate the Muslim Vote will be endorsing is Dr Ziad Basyouny, who announced he will be running as an independent in Tony Burke’s seat of Watson earlier this month.
Burke, the Labor government’s home affairs minister, was contacted for comment for this story.
The group has set out policy criteria that potential candidates would need to agree to garner their support, including campaigning on Palestine, cost of living, health funding and climate change. However, the movement would not provide details on the specifics of these policies, saying they will be revealed closer to the election.
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While it would be a difficult task unseating Labor from historically safe seats like Watson, political analyst Ben Raue said the efforts of the Muslim Vote should be “worrisome” to Labor.
“It’s probably worrisome for Labor that they [the Muslim Vote] are unafraid of hurting their chances.”
“It sounds like this group has done their research, they are realistic about their chances. But part of their efforts must be to get voters to take them seriously and to convince them they don’t have to vote Labor.”
He said that despite potentially preferencing Labor last, the movement’s candidates would probably find it “really difficult” to claim any of their targeted seats.
“The chances that they’ll actually win any seats, I still think they’re relatively low. It’s going to be really difficult for them to win, but it sounds like they are putting in a serious effort.”
He said Labor underestimated how many of their previous voters had become disfranchised with the party.
“Labor underestimates how much their support of the base has become a lot more mercenary, a lot less loyal and [more] willing to consider alternatives, even if it harms them.”
Billie Sankovic, chief executive of the Western Sydney Community Forum, felt there was some change in the air.
“Communities here are looking to government, at all levels, and are demanding more serious investment and better decision making, and without that, you have conditions that can change voting patterns,” she said.
“All successful movements grow in the sorts of environments where people feel they’re not being heard, or they do not have the opportunity to be heard, and most importantly, where people do not feel and see action being taken that improves their lives.”