Milad El-Halabi, a former Melbourne councillor has pleaded guilty in court on Thursday to stealing and forging votes in the 2020 Merri-bek City Council election, narrowly avoiding jail time.
A former Melbourne councillor has confessed in court to stealing and falsifying votes in the 2020 Merri-bek City Council election.
Prosecutors did not pursue a conviction against El-Halabi’s wife and daughter, but did push for prison time for the former councillor. The residents were subsequently sent a second ballot pack to fill out and return, however, upon counting the votes the commission detected 23 electors had voted twice, prompting an investigation by both the VEC and police.The Victorian Electoral Commission detected that something was amiss during the October 2020 local election. Picture: Pema Tamang Pakhrin
In court on Thursday, El-Halabi received a community correction order of 18 months and a fine of $20,000. Electoral Commissioner Sven Bluemmel said the VEC has implemented additional security measures to safeguard the election process in the future.
Merri-Bek City Council Milad El-Halabi
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