Jail For Six In Slough 'Ghost Voter' Trial

Paul Walter reports that the 6 men convicted of electoral fraud in Slough have been given custodial sentences of between four months and four-and-a-half years.

Three of the men admitted the crime, while another three were convicted by a jury.

Two other men, including former Conservative deputy Mayor Mohammed Aziz, were cleared of conspiracy after the jury was unable to reach a verdict, but prosecutors will not seek their retrial.

Hundreds of false names were created by the men in the weeks running up to the 2007 local election as they registered them at a succession of rental and non-existent properties. These new additions were then used to effect a shock upset in the Slough Central ward where Conservative Raja Khan unseated respected veteran Labour councillor Lydia Simmons. Mr Khan has since been expelled from his party.

Electoral Commission chief executive Peter Wardle offered the reassurance that although this type of crime is relatively rare the sentence passed demonstrates the seriousness with which it is treated, saying "we want every voter to be confident that their vote is secure."

Similar accusations have been made elsewhere across the county, most notably relating to the 2005 local elections in Reading's Redlands ward when the now departed chief exectutive of Reading Borough Council Trish Haines concluded that "the irregularities did not have an impact on the overall results."

Oranjepan says:
If the public is to have confidence in the system all frauds should be prosecuted to ensure there are no future irregularities. To let one go sends entirely the wrong message.

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Update: Howard Thomas offers some reactionary common sense.

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History: Case Opens; Convictions Gained.