Milad El-Halabi JP is an Australian former politician. He was a councillor on the

City of Moreland The City of Merri-bek is a local government area in metropolitan Melbourne, Australia. It comprises the inner northern suburbs between 4 and 11 kilometres from the Melbourne CBD. The Merri-bek local government area covers , and in June 2018, ...

(now known as the

City of Merri-bek The City of Merri-bek is a local government area in metropolitan Melbourne, Australia. It comprises the inner northern suburbs between 4 and 11 kilometres from the Melbourne CBD. The Merri-bek local government area covers , and in June 2018, ...

) in

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from 2004 until 2008, and again from 2020 until 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. It was later found that he had been unduly elected.

Political career

El-Halabi was first elected to the

in North-West Ward at the 2004 local elections. He was defeated in

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, receiving 4.13% of the vote. He unsuccessfully contested the

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and 2016 local elections, receiving 3.22% and 3.78% of the vote respectively. At the 2020 local elections, El-Halabi returned to the council as the fourth councillor elected in North-West Ward. On 10 February 2022, El-Halabi was being charged by

Victoria Police Victoria Police is the primary law enforcement agency of the Australian state of Victoria. It was formed in 1853 and currently operates under the ''Victoria Police Act 2013''. , Victoria Police had over 22,300 staff, comprising over 16,700 ...

with conspiracy to cheat and defraud for allegedly tampering with the election in his ward. He was suspended as a member of the Labor Party, then resigned as a councillor. He was replaced via

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the following month by Socialist Alliance's Monica Harte. 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 Victorian or Victorians may refer to: 19th century * Victorian era, British history during Queen Victoria's 19th-century reign ** Victorian architecture ** Victorian house ** Victorian decorative arts ** Victorian fashion ** Victorian litera ...

, therefore prejudicing the election result. On 31 March 2023, the

Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal The Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT) was formed by the ''Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal Act'' 1998 in the state of Victoria, Australia. As part of the Victorian Justice system the Tribunal sits 'below' the Magistrat ...

(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. El-Halabi continues to deny all allegations.

References

{{Authority control Victoria (state) local councillors 21st-century Australian politicians Year of birth missing (living people) Living people