respect
05-04-2005, 12:38 AM
Source: http://www.thestatesman.net/page.news.php?clid=8&theme=&usrsess=1&id=73180
The Independent
LONDON, April 4. — A judge delivered a devastating indictment today of the postal voting system championed by British ministers as he found six Labour councillors guilty of electoral fraud.
Birmingham High Court judge, Mr Justice Richard Mawrey said checks against corruption were “hopelessly insecure” and accused the Tony Blair government of being in denial about the risks to democracy. Mr Justice Mawrey found “overwhelming” evidence of fraud in last year’s city council elections that would “disgrace a banana republic”.
The elections, where several Labour candidates bucked the trend to win their seats, were dogged by claims of intimidation, bribery, “vote-buying”, impersonation and even the creation of a “vote-forging factory”.
The judge’s comments — on the eve of the expected announcement by Mr Blair of a 5 May general election, when millions of votes will be cast by post — were highly embarrassing to the Labour Party.
The court ruled against three Labour councillors in Birmingham’s Bordesley Green ward — Mr Shafaq Ahmed, Mr Shah Jahan and Mr Ayaz Khan — and three in the Aston ward — Md Islam, Md Afzal and Md Kazi. The results of the 10 June poll were declared void and will be re-run next month.
Mr Justice Mawrey said: “Bordesley Green and Aston were not isolated incidents but were part of a Birmingham-wide campaign by the Labour Party to try, by the use of bogus postal votes, to counter the adverse effect of the Iraq war on its electoral fortunes.”
The Independent
LONDON, April 4. — A judge delivered a devastating indictment today of the postal voting system championed by British ministers as he found six Labour councillors guilty of electoral fraud.
Birmingham High Court judge, Mr Justice Richard Mawrey said checks against corruption were “hopelessly insecure” and accused the Tony Blair government of being in denial about the risks to democracy. Mr Justice Mawrey found “overwhelming” evidence of fraud in last year’s city council elections that would “disgrace a banana republic”.
The elections, where several Labour candidates bucked the trend to win their seats, were dogged by claims of intimidation, bribery, “vote-buying”, impersonation and even the creation of a “vote-forging factory”.
The judge’s comments — on the eve of the expected announcement by Mr Blair of a 5 May general election, when millions of votes will be cast by post — were highly embarrassing to the Labour Party.
The court ruled against three Labour councillors in Birmingham’s Bordesley Green ward — Mr Shafaq Ahmed, Mr Shah Jahan and Mr Ayaz Khan — and three in the Aston ward — Md Islam, Md Afzal and Md Kazi. The results of the 10 June poll were declared void and will be re-run next month.
Mr Justice Mawrey said: “Bordesley Green and Aston were not isolated incidents but were part of a Birmingham-wide campaign by the Labour Party to try, by the use of bogus postal votes, to counter the adverse effect of the Iraq war on its electoral fortunes.”