POLICE forces and election officials have received fresh allegations of electoral fraud using postal votes, The Sunday Times has learnt.

A number of such claims have been made about the conduct of candidates in last year’s Bradford council elections.

They have emerged just days before an electoral court in Birmingham gives its verdict on claims that Labour officials stole ballot papers from unsuspecting postal voters.

The anticipated fallout from the scandal will be another blow to Tony Blair’s plans to expand the use of postal ballots for all elections.

The number of postal ballot applications for the general election — likely to be held next month — has risen dramatically, prompting fears that it may be open to such fraud.

Inquiries by The Sunday Times have revealed that it is not just Labour politicians who are accused of attempting to rig the vote. In Bradford a number of allegations have also been made against campaigners for the Liberal Democrats and the Tories.

Police are investigating allegations that postal ballots were “harvested” from Asian voters. These include claims that: oDoorstep intimidation was used to force people to hand over uncompleted postal votes. oVotes were cast for people abroad without their consent. oWomen were coerced into voting for a particular candidate. oUnused postal ballot papers were taken or diverted to a central address or “warehouse” so party workers could fill them in.

In one alleged incident, a Lib Dem party worker is said to have taken ballot papers from a couple and completed them without their permission.

According to the couple, who asked not to be named, the Lib Dem candidate, Mukhtar Ali, later apologised for the incident, telling the couple it had been a mistake and done without his knowledge.

Ali told The Sunday Times that police had investigated a number of allegations of fraud but no prosecutions had resulted.

“I am very disappointed that such allegations are still being made and can give you my assurance that I will be working hard to make sure that the forthcoming general election is carried out in a free and fair manner,” he said.

Several allegations were made against party workers acting for Intkhab Alam, a Tory councillor in Bradford. They were accused of pressuring people into giving them empty postal ballots that were taken to Alam’s campaign office to be filled in.

Alam denied the allegations and claimed they were prompted by “petty politics”. He said: “It was a fair election and neither I, nor anyone from my team, forced anybody to hand (in) their votes.”

He added: “Allegations were also made against other councillors throughout Bradford. An investigation was done, no evidence was found of any election malpractice in the Great Horton ward.”

Terry Rooney, Labour MP for Bradford North, said: “There have been far too many cases of fraudulent manipulation of votes in Bradford over the last couple of years. Everybody knows it is going on. In one incident, someone was arrested with 30 postal votes on him but the CPS (Crown Prosecution Service) decided he had not committed any offence.”

Detective Superintendent John Parkinson, of West Yorkshire police, said: “We have thoroughly investigated a number of allegations of electoral malpractice . . . In most cases there was either insufficient, or no evidence to base an investigation on, or people were not willing to come forward and give statements. One allegation of electoral irregularity is still being investigated.”

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