Contestants claim corruption at core of Miss Lebanon Australia 2016
One of the judges of the Miss Lebanon Australia contest says none of the panel voted for the 2016 winner, the sister of controversial businessman Salim Mehajer.
Miriam "Mary" Mehajer, sister to controversial former deputy mayor of Auburn, was one of nine finalists despite being late to enter the pageant.
Pageant judge David Carr claims that he was not aware of Mary's familial connection until she was crowned winner.
"I felt that she wasn't the finest on the night," Dr Carr told A Current Affair.
"I personally had not rated her number one and I was a little incredulous when they announced the winner and when I looked at my fellow judges, they all looked back at me and I said, 'well I didn't rate her number one' and they said, 'well we thought you rated her because we didn't rate her number one,' and none of us rated her number one."
Dr Carr has welcomed the calls for an investigation into the scoring system.
There have been claims of corruption after Salim Mehajer's 18-year-old sister, Mary, was crowned Miss Lebanon Australia 2016 (Image: Instagram)
"I personally feel they should look at the score cards and see exactly what each judge scored, and tally the figures," Dr Carr said.
But Former Miss Lebanon Australia winner Cynthia Farrah told A Current Affair she is shocked by the allegations.
"I truly believed that Mary deserved the title of winning Miss Lebanon Australia 2016," Ms Farrah said.
Mehajer's sister Aisha was an event organiser and Salim was a major sponsor of the event.
One woman - who has asked not to be identified - was in the audience for the event and claims it was a sham from the start.
"When it came down to the top five and people knew it was his sister in it, then it was game over," the audience member told A Current Affair.
Two contestants spoke with A Current Affair but are so fearful of retaliation that they did so on the provision of anonymity.
One of the contestants is so furious with the allegations of corruption that she has lodged a complaint with the NSW Department of Fair Trading.
She said Mehajer was not the rightful winner and that organisers have tried to silence her by threatening legal action.
The NSW Department of Fair Trading have confirmed they are assessing whether to investigate the issue.
Another former contestant said she was forced to pull out of the competition.
Read more at http://www.9news.com.au/national/2016/05/05/19/22/contestants-claim-corruption-at-core-of-miss-lebanon-australia-2016#DYkMZVc3HIGrIkBH.99
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