Merri-bek City Council, North-West Ward inquiry concludes
Friday 31 March 2023
For immediate release
The Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT) has declared that Milad El-Halabi was not duly elected as a councillor for Merri-bek City Council's North-West Ward at the 2020 local council general elections.
VCAT has made final orders in the proceeding, giving effect to its judgment in which it held that Mr El-Halabi benefited from ballot tampering conducted during the postal election for North-West Ward.
VCAT further held that the 2020 election of the 3 other councillors to North-West Ward was not affected by the inclusion of fraudulent ballots in the count. The effect of VCAT's decision is that the current councillors in North-West Ward maintain their positions on the council.
Acting Electoral Commissioner Dana Fleming has welcomed the decision validating the VEC's concerns and in turn restoring confidence in the electoral process.
'In October 2020, our rigorous systems and alert staff detected some votes had been tampered with in the North-West Ward postal election for what was then Moreland City Council. By law, the VEC was required to declare the result of that election.
'We immediately alerted Victoria Police to this matter, and within an hour of the election result being declared, we referred the matter to VCAT for an inquiry into the validity of the election.
'Since that point, we have worked tirelessly to ensure that democracy is upheld for the North-West Ward community. The VEC expended considerable time and resources in gathering and interpreting evidence to support this inquiry. I also note that all candidates were necessarily made parties in the matter. Their contributions ultimately assisted VCAT to reach its decision.
'Prior to the council elections in 2020, inquiries into the validity of elections were conducted by a Municipal Electoral Tribunal, which was stood up and given a strict timeframe to consider any disputes from elections. The VEC will make recommendations on the efficacy of the new system of review, noting that the additional obligations on VCAT coincided with increased pressures on the court system from the pandemic.'
Ms Fleming stated that she was confident that, based on the countback process that took place following Mr El-Halabi's resignation from the council in February 2022, with votes redistributed according to voters' preferences, the current councillors in North-West Ward reflect the will of voters. This is supported by expert evidence presented before the inquiry, which was accepted by VCAT.
'While the proceeding's outcome does not change the current council, it is worth noting that had Mr El-Halabi not already resigned from his position, the effect of this decision would be to remove him as a councillor,' Ms Fleming said.
'What this matter has demonstrated is that the VEC's processes to protect democracy and electoral integrity work. However, we won't be complacent, and we will work closely with Victoria's local government sector, the relevant law enforcement agencies, and Australia Post to prevent this from occurring again.'
The VEC will not make public comment on the criminal proceedings related to this matter.
Media information
Previous media releases on this matter
Tuesday 3 November 2020 – Moreland City Council, North-West Ward election referred for investigation
Tuesday 22 February 2022 – Moreland City Council, North-West Ward countback to proceed
Friday 18 March 2022 – Further countback for Moreland City Council
Wednesday 23 March 2022 – New councillor for Moreland City Council
Why was the North-West Ward election not suspended in 2020?
By law, the VEC was required to proceed with the election and declare the result as soon as practicable, despite its concerns about the validity of some ballot papers.
Immediately after declaring the result, the VEC applied to VCAT for an inquiry into the election. Under the Local Government Act 2020, VCAT is responsible for hearing disputes about the validity of local government elections. The VEC had to comply with all its statutory obligations in relation to the election (including a countback) while supporting VCAT's inquiry into the validity of the election.
Why isn't the VEC running the election again?
Any decision to require a new election is a matter for VCAT. In this matter, the VEC submitted that the current council represented the will of the voters, as Mr El-Halabi was the fourth-elected councillor and the countback conducted following his resignation in February 2022 redistributed votes according to voters' preferences. VCAT accepted this submission and determined that on the balance of probability, the election of Councillor Monica Harte through the countback was not affected by fraud.
Is the 2022 North-West Ward countback result still valid?
Any decision to overturn a local government election result, including a countback result, is a matter for VCAT. In this instance, VCAT accepted the VEC's submission that the countback result from March 2022 was reflective of the will of voters.