Arabic version: ألان تواجه تحدياً على قيادة حزب العمال في فيكتوريا

According to ABC News, Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan is facing a leadership challenge this week, four months before the November state election. Factional convenors from Labor’s right and left met on Sunday night to assess whether she retained majority caucus support and agreed that she did not, the ABC understands.

A delegation is expected to offer Ms Allan the chance to resign on Monday. If she declines, she is expected to face a challenge at Tuesday’s caucus meeting, when parliament returns from its winter break. Cabinet is also due to meet on Monday, with a proposed organised crime commission understood to be high on its agenda.

Some Labor MPs continue to support Ms Allan. Planning Minister Sonya Kilkenny described speculation earlier on Sunday as “idle gossip” and said the premier had her full support. Other senior figures told the ABC that Ms Allan was not going anywhere, while opponents of a change said not all caucus members or sub-factions had been consulted.

Deputy Premier Ben Carroll is considered the most likely candidate to replace Ms Allan. He has previously ruled out challenging her, but a vacancy could allow him to become leader if Ms Allan accepts she has lost caucus backing. If a spill succeeded and Ms Allan contested a ballot, Victorian Labor’s full membership would vote in a process expected to take weeks.

Ms Allan became premier in September 2023 after Daniel Andrews resigned. She has faced months of leadership speculation linked to worsening polling and her handling of alleged corruption in the taxpayer-funded Big Build. Some Labor MPs want a royal commission into the matter, which Ms Allan has ruled out. Her Bendigo East seat is under threat from the Nationals.