Milad El-Halabi’s family is accused of electoral fraud

During the 2020 Merri-bek Council election, an electoral officer received numerous calls from the public reporting that they had not received their ballot papers.

This made the officer suspicious of potential voter fraud, which she reported to her manager and the police.

Former councillor Milad El-Halabi, his wife Dianna, and their daughter Tania are now accused of stealing ballot papers from mailboxes and fraudulently filling them out to support Milad El-Halabi’s candidacy for the north-westward of Merri-bek City Council.

The family is contesting the charges, and the case is being heard in Melbourne Magistrates’ Court.

Keegan Bartlett, the Victorian Electoral Commission’s director of integrity and regulation, testified in court that one of his election officers first raised the alarm about the suspected fraud.

The officer had noticed that receiving so many reports of missing ballot papers was unusual, especially in a small suburb in Melbourne’s northwest.

The ballots had been reported as lodged in the database, which raised further concerns. The officer reported her suspicions to her manager before the police were notified, and a crisis management team was formed to investigate.

During the hearing, Merri-bek councillor Oscar Yildiz testified that he had received a voicemail from an unknown woman before the election.

The woman claimed to have seen a man checking residents’ mailboxes for ballot papers in the Glenroy area, and when asked, the man said he was doing it for Milad El-Halabi.

Yildiz reported the incident to the police and the VEC. He denied any animosity towards El-Halabi and stated that they agreed to preference each other fourth in the election.

However, Yildiz denied calling El-Halabi a “prick” and threatening to “f— him up” after their agreement fell apart. Instead, Yildiz blamed councillor Annalivia Carli Hannan for making a last-minute agreement with the Greens, which prevented him from becoming mayor.

Forensic experts analyzed 83 suspicious envelopes containing ballot slips as part of the police investigation.

In February 2022, financial crime squad detectives charged Milad, Dianna, and Tania El-Halabi with more than 20 offences each, including ballot paper forgery and interfering with postal ballot materials. The hearing will continue on Tuesday, and a magistrate will decide whether to send their case to trial.