Police called to polling booth as Sydney council vote descends into chao
Updated ,first published
A toxic council by-election in Sydney’s southwest descended into chaos after police were called to the polls amid a fight between a councilor and a candidate.
The row comes a day after Liverpool City Council’s Liberal mayor mistakenly published the former home address of a Labor MP for the area in a Facebook video criticizing the circumstances leading up to the south ward election triggered by the resignation of deputy mayor Betty Green in January.
Liverpool Liberal councilor Richard Ammoun and independent by-election candidate Jamal Daoud were seen shouting at each other during a pre-poll at the Casula Community Center on Thursday afternoon.
Daoud, who ran as an independent candidate for the seat of Werriwa in last year’s federal election, claimed he was called a liar by Ammoun for claiming there was corruption in the council and that a Liberal supporter said “your father is a son of a bitch” in Arabic.
An election official inside later called NSW Police, which Daoud and other witnesses confirmed.
“At that time, I felt the need to say a few bad words about him,” Daoud said. reporter Thursday afternoon. “It’s not bad, but I said, ‘Shut up’ or something. You can’t talk like that, especially about my father. [because] “He is now a dead person.”
Ammoun said Daoud lied about corruption in the council.
“He was saying the wrong things to voters, and I tried to correct him,” Ammoun said. “He started calling me names in his native language. I remained calm even when the police were there.”
Daoud now wears a body camera in the final few days of the campaign.
A NSW Police spokesman said they were called to a civil matter and left without incident.
State MP’s former address published online
The incident is the latest in a dramatic surge 24 hours before Saturday’s vote, which will see about 82,000 of the municipality’s residents return to the polls.
On Wednesday night, Liberal mayor Ned Mannoun posted a remarkable 3-minute, 50-second video on Facebook in which he discussed the “cold, hard truth” about the council while sitting in front of a cork board with the faces of his political rivals tied together with pins and a piece of string.
For about three seconds, as Mannoun talked about United Services Union donations to the Labor Party, a photo of the election donation disclosure form appeared on the screen, showing the unredacted addresses of Liverpool Labor MP Charishma Kaliyanda and Green.
Former Liverpool councilor Kaliyanda said it was “doxxing”.
“I’m getting advice on what my options are,” he said. “Does this mean I have to move house? What does this mean in terms of the safety and security precautions I need to take for myself and my family?”
Kaliyanda later confirmed that he had not lived at the address for several years, but said in a separate statement that he had concerns for his safety.
Mannoun stopped short of apologizing for sharing the data in the video but said: “I regret the publication of a public document.”
Mannoun said that the people whose addresses were shared were not mentioned in the video and the size of the clipping was barely readable. On Thursday morning, he removed the video and re-uploaded it with the information blurred.
Mannoun said he plans to post more social media content about the saga. “Wait for my next video,” he said.
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EXPLANATION
This story has been updated after Labor MP Charishma Kaliyanda confirmed she no longer lives at the address Liverpool Mayor Ned Mannoun made public.
Anthony Segaert is The Sydney Morning Herald’s Parramatta bureau chief. He was previously an urban affairs reporter.Connect with: X or email.
