The Geelong City Council will hold elections in 2017 after a report laid bare allegations of widespread bullying and dysfunction.

Councillors including Mayor Darryn Lyons are likely to be formally sacked on Thursday afternoon when the Victorian Upper House votes on a bill to dismiss the entire council.

The Victorian Government had been pushing to keep the council in the hands of administrators until 2020, but the Opposition and Greens would not allow the bill to pass the Upper House without an earlier election.

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Cr Lyons was at parliament on Thursday where he meet with five Upper House MPs to plead his case.

“I think it went extremely well, I had a fantastic hearing. This is all about the citizens of Geelong and that’s why I’m here,” he said.

An independent report tabled in parliament accused Cr Lyons, as well as other councillors and senior staff, of widespread bullying, intimidation and dysfunction.

Cr Lyons said whatever the outcome, this afternoon should be about democracy.

“I think directly elected councillors should be put back into place as soon as possible, if the worst case scenario of the sacking happens this afternoon,” he said.

The bill has been debated in the Upper House, where the government requires the support of the Opposition and Greens to pass it.

The Opposition’s David Davis told parliament earlier that the Coalition would not back the bill unless a clause to delay elections until 2020 was amended.

“We will move an amendment that will seek to put in place an October 2017 date, a start-up date for a new council,” he said.

“So we will accept in this bill that the council ought to be dismissed, but we will indicate that local democracy ought to return in October 2017.”