Former Merri-bek councillor convicted of stealing votes

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.

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