A former councillor has avoided prison for tampering with voters’ ballot papers to elect himself to local government.
Milad El-Halabi was fined $20,000 and handed an 18-month community work order in Melbourne’s County Court on Thursday, after admitting one charge of vote tampering.
Police previously alleged El-Halabi’s wife and daughter were involved in the fraud, but prosecutors have since discontinued all charges against them.
In the lead-up to the Moreland City — since renamed as Merri-bek — council election in October 2020, COVID-19 restrictions meant voting had to be conducted via the mail, the court was told.
The Victorian Electoral Commission (VEC) sent out ballot packs to eligible voters across three days, however a number of electors contacted the commission or council to complain they hadn’t received their ballots.
All of those voters were sent a second pack, which they returned.
When the votes were counted, it was discovered that 23 electors had voted twice, which led to an investigation by both the VEC and police.
El-Halabi or his daughter’s DNA or fingerprint evidence was discovered on each of the 23 false votes, Judge Stewart Bayles said.
However, he said it was not known who stole the ballots, nor who wrote on or completed the forms before they were sent off.
“It is not clear precisely what occurred in reality, nor is it clear what your role was in whatever it is happened,” Judge Bayles said.
‘Strikes at the heart of the democratic process’
El-Halabi was found to have “possessed and handled” the 23 fraudulent ballot papers, which elected him to the council’s north-west ward, before approving their return to the VEC, he said.
He said El-Halabi’s offending was serious as it “strikes at the heart of the democratic process” and affected public confidence in Australia’s electoral system and in those elected.
“As a candidate for a local government election you would’ve been aware of the seriousness of handling of electoral material without authorisation and approval of their return,” the judge said.
Prosecutor Justin Lewis said El-Halabi’s offending concerned “the cornerstone of our society” and called for him to be handed a lengthy community work order in combination with a prison term.
El-Halabi, who was first elected to the local council in 2004 and became deputy mayor in 2006, resigned from his seat in 2022 after the allegations became public.
His barrister Robert Richter KC said the shame he felt from the offending was something he would live with for the rest of his life.
“His failure to prevent those votes from going out is still what he feels badly about,” Mr Richter told the court.
He asked for his client to receive a substantial fine and a community work order, which the judge agreed to.
Mr Richter asked for El-Halabi to be spared a criminal conviction over the offending as it could impact his ability to obtain a firearm licence to use at his farm, but Judge Bayles rejected this and convicted him.
AAP