Former Merri-bek Councillor Milad El-Halabi has avoided a jail sentence by pleading guilty to stealing and forging votes in the 2020 Merri-bek City Council election.
In October 2020, the Victorian Electoral Commission (VEC) detected that some votes had been tampered with in the postal election for North-West Ward in what was then Moreland City Council.
By law, the VEC was required to declare the result of that election and the matter was immediately referred to Victoria Police.
Last year, VCAT found that Mr El-Halabi was not duly elected, but that the election of the other three councillors in the ward was unaffected.
Mr El-Halabi was sentenced to a community corrections order and fined $20,000.