Woking Borough Council (WBC) will appear at the High Court later this month after an application was made to declare an election result invalid.
Labour hopeful Mohammad Ali, who came second at the borough council election for the Maybury and Sheerwater ward in May, has submitted the claim, highlighting what he calls ‘persistent electoral irregularities’ including the number of postal votes in the area and rejected ballots.
With the final vote standing at 1,088 to 1,072 in favour of Liberal Democrat incumbent Cllr Mohammed Bashir, Mr Ali, of Walton Road, Maybury, lost out by just 16 votes, and believes a hearing at the High Court would produce sufficient evidence for a recount…
He states: “My agent increased my vote by one by demanding a third recount with a new team of counters, which the ERO (electoral registration officer) initially did not want to do.
“In 2005 all the marked registers were lost so allegations of persistent double voting could not be checked and no explanation was given by the council,” he adds.
* Mark Pack has written 101 Ways To Win An Election and produces a monthly newsletter about the Liberal Democrats.
