Milad El-Halabi

Milad El-Halabi JP is a former Australian politician. He was a councillor on the City of Moreland (now known as the City of Merri-bek) in Victoria from 2004 until 2008, and again from 2020 until 2022.[1]

Milad El-Halabi
Councillor of the City of Moreland
for North-West Ward
In office
17 November 2020 – 10 February 2022
In office
2004–2008
Personal details
Political partyIndependent Labor
Other political
affiliations		Labor (suspended in 2022)

In February 2022, El-Halabi resigned as a councillor after being charged with conspiracy to cheat and defraud for allegedly tampering with the council election in his ward.[2] It was later found that he had been unduly elected.[3]

Political career

El-Halabi was first elected to the City of Moreland in North-West Ward at the 2004 local elections. He was defeated in 2008, receiving 4.13% of the vote.[4]

He unsuccessfully contested the 2012 and 2016 local elections, receiving 3.22% and 3.78% of the vote respectively [5]

At the 2020 local elections, El-Halabi returned to the council as the fourth councillor elected in North-West Ward.[1]

On 10 February 2022, El-Halabi was being charged by Victoria Police with conspiracy to cheat and defraud for allegedly tampering with the election in his ward.[2] He resigned as a councillor, and suspended as a member of the Labor Party.[2] He was replaced via countback the following month by Socialist Alliance's Monica Harte.[6]

El-Halabi, his wife Dianna and his daughter Tania, were alleged to have stole multiple ballot papers and lodged them with the Victorian Electoral Commission, therefore prejudicing the election result.[7]

On 31 March 2023, the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT) found that El-Halabi was unduly elected, but the election of the 3 other councillors to North-West Ward was not affected by the inclusion of fraudulent ballots in the count.[3] El-Halabi continues to deny all allegations.[8]

References
  1. "Moreland City Council election results 2020". Victorian Electoral Commission.
  2. "Councillor resigns following electoral fraud charges as VCAT mulls fresh election". The Age.
  3. "Merri-bek City Council, North-West Ward inquiry concludes". Victorian Electoral Commission.
  4. "2008 council election results". Victorian Electoral Commission.
  5. "2012 council election results". Victorian Electoral Commission.
  6. "Second socialist elected in Moreland, after Labor property developer steps down". Green Left.
  7. Morgan, Danny. "Former Moreland councillor Milad El-Halabi in court over alleged rigging of ballots in 2020 election". ABC News.
  8. Morgan, Cassandra. "Votes tampered with in Melbourne council poll: tribunal". The West Australian.
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