Voting fraud exposed in Bethnal Green and Bow
04/05/2005
George Galloway

George Galloway, the Respect candidate in Bethnal Green and Bow, today called for a police inquiry into ballot fraud and ghost voting which the party has uncovered. He called it "a brazen conspiracy to steal the election".

He also slated Toward Hamlets Council's electoral office for publishing an electoral roll which he said was "so shot through with errors and anomalies, deliberate or not, as to be almost meaningless". In particular he instanced more than 200 votes registered at an address which had been turned into offices more than a year ago.


A copy of his letter to the Returning Officer Christine Gilbert is given below.


Letter to Christine Gilbert


Dear Ms Gilbert,


I am writing to you to ask you to urgently investigate two obvious cases of potential 'ghost voter' registration, involving 24 'voters' and to complain, in the strongest possible terms, about the widespread errors and omissions in the electoral roll. It is clear that this roll has not been properly 'cleaned' and the possibility of massive fraud is very real. We have identified hundreds of cases of registered voters who are not at the addresses listed and others at addresses which do not exist.


Specifically, the two cases of potential ghost voting are at 108 and 118 Brick Lane. We are also extremely concerned about six registrations at 104 Brick Lane.


118 Brick Lane: we have already given our evidence on this to the Evening Standard, which has printed a story today, as I am sure you are aware. There are 12 Bengali names registered there. None of whom has ever lived in the building. Polling cards for these names have been removed.


108 Brick Lane: is tenanted, I understand by Mr (Abdul) Salique, a well-known New Labour supporter. It is clear from our investigation that the 12 people registered on the roll do not live there, while Mr Salique claims that he and his family are resident. This is palpably untrue. We have statements and video evidence from the people who are there. Mr Salique holds a sheaf of polling cards.


104 Brick Lane: none of the six names registered lives there and the polling cards for these names are missing.


What Respect is requesting is that a forensic analysis of these registration forms, which the council must hold, is carried out by the police, including the comparison of signatures and the like. There is clearly one or more conspiracies at work.


On the wider issue of the electoral roll, this is a democratic disgrace. I am unsure whether this is due to incompetence or some darker motivation. I instance just two or three of the 'anomalies'!


More than 200 voters are registered at the Mile End Nurses' Home off Bancroft Road. This building was, I understand, converted to office accommodation around 18 months ago! How, on earth, could these voters have been included on the roll? You will be aware that they could all 'vote' on May 5.


Pat Shaw House. Most of the residents seem to have at least two votes, often with subtle variations of name. This is clearly the work of one or more fraudsters.


The Gonis. Three Gonis are registered at 32 Ellen Wilkinson House, Globe Road. Six Gonis – including three with identical names as the first three – are registered at 32a Ellen Wilkinson House, which appears not to exist. The correct address sports a Conservative poster.


We have already, and on several occasions, raised our concerns about the method of counting postal votes, which you have refused to accept. Effectively you will bury any 'evidence' of fraud, if it happens, by not allowing the postal votes to be included with those cast on the day in one ballot box, which would at least give some measure of retrospective transparency. We ask you, even at this late stage, to reconsider your decision. We do not want the spectre of judicial revue haunting this election.


Your deputy has already been quoted in the press saying that you do not have the resources to monitor or investigate potential fraud. Our conclusion is also that you do not have the resources, or the will, to provide a fair and accurate voters' roll and that this one is deeply flawed and wide open to substantial fraud.


I trust that you will pass this letter to the police and that you will assist them in their investigations.


George Galloway