Legislative Assembly · District of St Albans
Zaffer Mannan
Last verified 24 Sept 2026
Seat context — St Albans›
St Albans is a safe Labor seat represented by Natalie Suleyman since 2014, who is recontesting. She has held a mix of ministerial portfolios this term: Minister for Veterans, Minister for Youth, and Minister for Small Business from December 2022; she lost the Youth portfolio in an April 2026 reshuffle (gaining Tourism), then was reassigned again in an early-August 2026 reshuffle — after Ben Carroll succeeded Jacinta Allan as Premier — to her current portfolio: Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment, Minister for Small and Family Business, and Minister for Veterans. The Greens' Bao Huynh, New Democrats' Zaffer Mannan, Victorian Socialists' Leanna Nguyen, and the West Party's Luận Walker are also confirmed. The Tally Room's 2026 candidate list (checked 2026-09-24) also shows Rob Dunstan (Liberal) and John Cowell (One Nation).
Background
Self-describes as a Senior Project Manager with more than 10 years' experience; no employer or industry is named on his own campaign material. SSelf-stated — NEWDEM-MANNANNew Democrats, "About Zaffer Mannan"View source
No independent confirmation of a specific employer was found. A same-named Brisbane real-estate agent surfaced in search is a different, unrelated person and was not used. SSelf-stated — NEWDEM-MANNANNew Democrats, "About Zaffer Mannan"View source
Platform
Where they stand, issue by issue — grounded in 2026 Victorian polling, not assumed. Every position is tagged with how we know it.
States his top concerns as rising local crime rates, traffic congestion, and the high cost of living.
Frames his campaign around regional investment fairness: "The West has been neglected for far too long... together we can work hard to ensure that the electorate of St Albans receives its fair share of investments."
What Victorians say matters most
5 poll-led issuesCost of living and crime have ranked 1st or 2nd in every Victorian poll since mid‑2025, with debt and housing close behind — see schema §3 for the polling this grouping is based on (DemosAU, Ipsos Issues Monitor, Roy Morgan). The 0-10 'priorityScore' on each candidate's issue entries is NOT a measure of true importance or an independent ranking of what a candidate actually cares about. It reflects how much detail and specificity exists in what that candidate has actually said publicly on that issue -- a named policy mechanism and a verified voting record score higher than a one-line stated priority, regardless of the issue's real-world weight. Render this distinction in the UI wherever the score appears; do not label it just 'Priority' without the qualifier.
Cost of living
Names high cost of living as one of three local concerns, without a specific mechanism or policy proposal.
Crime and community safety
Names rising local crime rates as one of three local concerns, without a specific mechanism or policy proposal.
Housing affordability and supply
Not detailed in sources reviewed.
State government debt and fiscal management
Not detailed in sources reviewed.
Infrastructure and public transport delivery
Raises traffic congestion as a local concern and calls generally for St Albans to receive "its fair share of investments."
The New Democrats' general platform separately calls for infrastructure funding to track population growth rather than being skewed toward marginal seats — party-line, not candidate-specific.
Also on the record
6 substance issuesThese don't top “biggest issue” polling, but carry real 2026 policy weight and genuine differences between parties.
Education and training
No personal statement found. The New Democrats' general platform calls for building more schools, particularly secondary schools, based on population and suburb growth.
Health and healthcare access
No personal statement found. The New Democrats' general platform calls for more funding for healthcare providers and hospitals.
Urban planning and housing density
Not detailed in sources reviewed.
Climate and energy transition
No personal statement found. The New Democrats' general platform states support for "actions to stop climate change" and investing in environmental protection, without a specific target or mechanism.
Treaty and First Nations affairs
Not detailed in sources reviewed.
Regional and rural Victoria
Not detailed in sources reviewed.
Local & party context
2 fieldsNot scored the way the eleven issues above are — these are fixed facts about the seat and the party, not positions with more or less emphasis behind them.
The New Democrats, founded in 2022, centre their platform on integrity and anti-corruption — strengthening integrity agencies and depoliticising the public service — alongside general education, infrastructure and jobs commitments. SSelf-stated — NEWDEM-ABOUTUSNew Democrats, "About Us"View source
Mannan's own campaign material does not mention integrity, corruption, or transparency at all, focusing instead on hyper-local concerns (crime, traffic, cost of living) — a narrower, more retail-politics emphasis than the party's founding platform. SSelf-stated — NEWDEM-MANNAN, NEWDEM-ABOUTUSNew Democrats, "About Zaffer Mannan"View sourceNew Democrats, "About Us"View source
Track record & prior candidacies
Ran for the New Democrats in St Albans at the 2022 Victorian state election, receiving 192 first-preference votes (0.5%) — last of the 10 candidates on the ballot, in a seat Labor's Natalie Suleyman retained comfortably. VVerified — WP-STALBANS-2022RESULTS, TALLYROOM-STALBANS2022Wikipedia, "Electoral results for the district of St Albans"View sourceThe Tally Room, "St Albans – Victoria 2022"View source
No other prior candidacy — state, federal, or local council — was found in any source checked, though this is a searched-but-not-exhaustive absence rather than a confirmed universal negative. RReported — WP-STALBANS-2022RESULTSWikipedia, "Electoral results for the district of St Albans"View source
Campaign, money & endorsements
Campaign logistics
Endorsements & Donations
Eligible for public election funding if elected, or if he receives at least 4% of first-preference votes in St Albans — the same 4% threshold that also governs nomination-deposit refunds. Funding is calculated as the lowest of the audited campaign-expenditure statement and an amount based on first-preference votes received, using the VEC's current indexed rate of $7.70 per first-preference vote for Legislative Assembly candidates (effective 1 July 2026, up from $7.46 the previous year).
The New Democrats are a VEC-registered party (first registered October 2022, re-registered November 2024); any funding attributable to his result would be paid to the party rather than to him directly, per the VEC's own registered-party funding rules (accessed 2026-09-24).