George Galloway denies that he alleged fraud

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George Galloway denies that he alleged fraud


George Galloway today hit back at claims he had accused three Labour councillors of electoral fraud.
A spokesman for the Respect candidate said he had pointed out late additions to the electoral register of extra names at the homes of the councillors, and had “never said it is voter fraud”.
Mr Galloway is standing in Poplar and Limehouse, where the campaign has been marred by fraud claims.
More than 5,000 new registrations - enough to sway the result - were reportedly received by Tower Hamlets council just before the cut-off date. Some houses in the area have as many as nine adults registered as living at the same address.
A spokesman for Mr Galloway said: “What we've done in these three cases is to point out the huge increase in numbers of people suddenly registering at their addresses in the space of a few days. We've never said it is voter fraud."


http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/standa...leged-fraud.do

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Fears of voting fraud grow as children receive polling cards


Children as young as 18 months old have received polling cards for the general election — prompting further fears of voting fraud.
The Standard has learned of dozens of cases of youngsters being registered to vote although they are not 18. Councils have put the incidents down to registration errors.
Voters are not required to prove their identity at polling stations.

Kamal Poonathan from Brent, whose 18-month-old daughter Nadusha received two polling cards, said: “I was very surprised when she received the cards. I called the council and they said there must have been a mistake, but they haven't asked for them back.

“It opens the system to voting fraud. One of my colleagues got one for his children last time and he just used it, but I'm not going to do that.”
Brent council suggested Mr Poonathan had made an error during the registration process. Parents are asked to list children who are 16 or 17 years old with their date of birth so they can vote when they reach 18. However, some add extra names or fail to include their child's birthday, so they are included in the adult register.

There were also reports of 17-year-olds receiving polling cards in Chiswick, west London. Several said they planned to vote.
A spokesman for Hounslow council said: “We can't rule out the possibility that a few polling cards may have been sent out in error, but there are processes in place to ensure that anyone under the age of 18 will not be able to vote.”

One Chiswick parent said: “Three or four of my daughter's friends have received polling cards and one of them intends to vote, but the others are worried they'd be caught.”
The development comes amid growing concern over postal vote fraud in London. Police are investigating four cases in Tower Hamlets and one in Ealing and assessing 23 other complaints.
In Tower Hamlets one Labour candidate accused of voting fraud by George Galloway today furiously denied the claims and said she would take legal action against the prospective MP for “spreading lies”.

Mr Galloway, standing for the Respect party in Poplar and Limehouse, accused three potential Labour councillors of registering false names at their homes and other properties in east London to abuse the postal vote system.

Rania Khan, standing for Bromley-by-Bow for Labour, is alleged to have registered eight fictitious names at the home she shares with her mother, the Tower Hamlets deputy mayor.
But she rejected the allegations, and said she wanted to sue Mr Galloway for defaming her character.

Tory and Lib-Dem officials have called for an inquiry into a Labour Bow West council candidate who is accused of tricking a pensioner into handing over her postal ballot papers.
Anwar Khan, 27, strongly denied the claims. He said: “These allegations are entirely false. I strongly deny that I have broken the law or acted improperly in any way.”


http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/standa...lling-cards.do

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Postal vote fraud claims investigated





Councils received a large number of late registrations.

More than 30 allegations of postal vote irregularities have been reported to police forces in England.

In London, 28 allegations have been received by the Metropolitan Police, relating to 12 boroughs.
The force is investigating five - four of which are in Tower Hamlets, while 23 allegations are still being assessed.
West Yorkshire Police are investigating three allegations, while Derbyshire Police say a number of allegations have been received.
Police would not confirm whether the irregularities related to the general election or local elections, which are also taking place across England on 6 May.
The Met said the allegations of electoral irregularities relate to Tower Hamlets, Lambeth, Barking and Dagenham, Westminster, Enfield, Hounslow, Haringey, Ealing, Brent, Bexleyheath, Camden, Redbridge.



'Checks working'

A spokesman said: "All complaints and allegations received will be assessed, and where appropriate, will be thoroughly investigated in close liaison with the CPS and other relevant agencies.
"We would encourage anyone with information regarding suspected electoral fraud or irregularities to report concerns to their local police or local authority."
Tower Hamlets Council said it had passed 10 allegations onto the police for investigation. It said it takes measures beyond most local authorities to combat voter fraud.
The council said it had received 3,123 registrations in the days before the 20 April deadline, which it did not have time to check before the register closed.
It has searched properties where more than eight people were registered and removed 141 people from the electoral register.
The Electoral Commission said the allegations proved new checks to prevent voting fraud, which were introduced in 2006, were working.
Registration officers now have powers to check people registering to vote are who they claim and, where appropriate, remove them from the electoral register.
Anyone registering to vote by post also has to provide their date of birth and signature so this can be checked when their vote is cast.
Peter Wardle, Chief Executive of the Electoral Commission, said: "The reports show these checks in action, with registration officers and the police aiming to catch potentially fraudulent applications before polling day.
"The number of reports of allegations should also be seen in the context of the total number of votes - at the 2005 general election over 27 million votes were cast."



http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politi...10/8659864.stm

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Police investigate electoral fraud claims after journalist is beaten up


How Jerome Taylor reported his ordeal in yesterday's Independent






Three Labour candidates standing in local elections in the London borough of Tower Hamlets have been spoken to by police investigating allegations of electoral fraud using falsely-registered postal votes. The inquiry by Scotland Yard Special Branch officers in the impoverished east London borough is part of a nationwide probe into 50 claims that electoral rolls from London to West Yorkshire, some of them in marginal constituencies, have been packed with fictitious or absent voters in the run up to this week's poll.


When The Independent visited the area on Monday to investigate the claims, reporter Jerome Taylor was attacked and badly beaten by youths shortly after calling at the house of Khales Uddin Ahmed, a Labour candidate for the Bromley-by-Bow ward.


A total of 12 people are registered to Mr Ahmed's address, seven of whom have been added to the electoral roll in the last eight weeks. A witness said that two of the attackers tried to run into Mr Ahmed's property. A 16-year-old youth has been arrested on suspicion of assault and released on police bail. Mr Ahmed yesterday failed to respond to requests for an interview.


The Metropolitan Police said it had received 10 separate allegations passed to it by Tower Hamlets Borough Council that addresses in closely-fought wards had acquired multiple new occupants shortly before the electoral register closed last month. Four of the claims are now the subject of a police inquiry.


George Galloway, whose Respect Party has fought a long electoral grudge match in the borough with Labour since 2004, and the Conservative Party have highlighted entries on the electoral roll where up to 18 adults have been registered at flats containing just two or three bedrooms. Mr Galloway, who is standing in the Poplar and Limehouse seat, vowed yesterday to mount a legal challenge to the results if it seems likely that they have been affected by any irregularities at the ballot box.


Police confirmed they are investigating 28 claims of electoral fraud across 12 London boroughs. A spokesman said: "All complaints and allegations received will be assessed, and where appropriate, will be thoroughly investigated in close liaison with the CPS and other relevant agencies."


The Independent understands that three out of the 51 Labour candidates standing in Tower Hamlets, which has a large Bengali population, have been spoken to by detectives in the last three weeks as part of "routine enquiries" into the allegations. There have been no arrests.


Entries on the electoral roll which have been highlighted include an apartment block in the Bethnal Green area, inhabited by families mostly with two or three adults, where one flat has had 17 voters added to its listing in the last month.
Another address, a small flat linked to a Labour councillor seeking re-election, has had three new voters registered within the past few weeks.


Tower Hamlets council said yesterday it would support calls to allow local authorities additional time to investigate late postal vote applications by allowing four extra days before the registration process closes to scrutinise application forms. The council said it had 3,123 registrations which it did not have time to investigate.
The allegations have led to a febrile atmosphere in the borough, where both parliamentary seats are held by slim majorities. Mr Galloway said: "The integrity of the elections here has been thoroughly compromised. Clearly there are grounds for arguing that these contests should end up before the electoral court."



A Labour Party spokesman said: "The Labour Party condemns fraud wherever it takes place and will take tough action against any member, candidate, agent or activist who abuses the voting system."


Postal vote investigations nationwide

London

Police have received complaints of electoral fraud in Tower Hamlets; Barking and Dagenham; Lambeth; Westminster; Enfield; Hounslow; Haringey; Ealing; Brent; Bexleyheath; Camden; and Redbridge.


Overall they have received 28 separate allegations of postal voting fraud. Five are currently under investigation, with 23 being assessed. Of the five allegations under investigation, four are in Tower Hamlets, and one is in Ealing.
Tower Hamlets Borough Council received 3,123 late postal vote registrations. A spokesperson for the council said that the late arrival of the applications did not give staff enough time to investigate and that the issue of electoral fraud was taken very seriously.



"We have over 300 staff from across the council now working on the elections and all have been trained to maintain the integrity of the election and watch out for potential voter fraud."


West Yorkshire

Police in Bradford have received three allegations of fraudulent postal votes and one allegation of "making or publishing false statements of fact about character or conduct".
The allegations are still under investigation and no arrests have been made.
In Halifax two men, aged 60 and 39, were arrested on 19 April this year, on suspicion of election fraud and are currently on police bail.


Manchester

There have been allegations of breaches of the Electoral Commission Code of Practice in Rochdale; North Manchester; Oldham and Bolton. The police are working with the Electoral Commission to investigate these reports.



Bristol

A spokesperson for Avon and Somerset police said that they have received no allegations of electoral fraud, despite Bristol East Labour candidate Kerry McCarthy last week announcing the details of a postal vote count on Twitter, which is in breach of the Electoral Commission's Code.



Surrey

Tory activists said they had received reports that a man in hospital, on a ventilator, had been bullied by a member of a rival party into signing his postal vote in their favour, but Surrey police said have received no allegations of electoral fraud.



Derbyshire

Derbyshire police have investigated two allegations of postal voting fraud and both investigations have now been closed. Not enough evidence was found to charge anyone of voting fraud.


http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk...p-1962536.html