The NSW Local Government Minister has urged Salim Mehajer to step down after he was charged with voter fraud but the controversial deputy mayor says the charges are part of a "political game".
Paul Toole said he expected the highest standards from councillors and Auburn council was being investigated by the Office of Local Government.
Mr Mehajer faces a possible 10 years in jail after being charged by the Australian Federal Police with forging documents to rig the 2012 Auburn Council ballot that got him elected.
The AFP served court attendance notices to eight Sydney people for electoral fraud offences, after a referral from the Australian Electoral Commission in August 2012.
The charges are levelled at Mr Mehajer, his sister Fatima, brother-in-law Jamal Elkheir and five others who ran as candidates in the council poll.
All eight are set to face Sydney's Downing Centre in February.
"The fraud charges are now a matter for the courts and I would urge the councillor in question to consider his position and stand down until these serious matters are dealt with," Mr Toole said in a statement on Monday.
Mr Mehajer says the calls for him to step down are part of a political game targeting Auburn Council.
"Welcome to politics! It's full of hidden agendas to make me 'step down'," Mr Mehajer told AAP.
"I sat four years as deputy mayor; so why didn't they act earlier, when the case was open and when I personally contacted the AFP many times," Mr Mehajer wrote in an email.
The embattled deputy mayor, who recently appeared in court three times in one day on separate matters, first made headlines in August when he hosted an extravagant wedding complete with helicopters, bikies and street closures.
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