A London borough rocked by a vote-rigging scandal will implement some of the toughest security measures seen for an election count in the UK.
Tower Hamlets council will be the first in the country to use a photographic entry system for a local by-election count, held in its town hall tomorrow night.
It will trial the measures at the counts for Shadwell and Lansbury wards. Anti-fraud police officers equipped with cameras will be deployed at the polling stations to deter voter intimidation.
In 2014, local elections in the borough had to be rerun after former mayor Lutfur Rahman was convicted of voting fraud. The Election Commissioner upheld a number of claims, including that some ballots were double-cast.
The election court heard votes for rival parties may have been intentionally lost at the count. Mr Rahman was removed from office in 2015 and banned from standing for election for five years.
Aspire, a party founded last year by Mr Rahman, has candidates running for both seats tomorrow. Last May’s local election count, held out of borough at the ExCel Centre, went more smoothly than previous years but some wards were subject to recounts. Counters were cordoned off to prevent people crowding them.
Tower Hamlets chief executive and returning officer Will Tuckley said: “The council has worked with election management software company Xpress to develop the automated photographic entry system. The system will bolster security and increase efficiency for officials and attendees.”
Everyone attending the count, including serving councillors, candidates, party activists and journalists, will need to be registered on the photo ID system to get into the town hall.
Those wishing to attend must submit a form including name, address and reason for being there — along with a passport photo. Each attendee is then given a unique barcoded pass. A security team will check that passes match the photo on the system every time someone enters or leaves, with the system registering who is in the building at all times. If successful, it will be rolled out in all elections.
Voters do not need ID to cast their ballot at the polls earlier in the day.
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A police report shows detectives are investigating nine allegations related to the by-elections, including ballot tampering and postal vote fraud.
The by-elections follow the resignations of two Labour councillors. Muhammed Harun quit after he was accused of housing fraud. He has denied the claims.
Ruhul Amin resigned his seat in Shadwell for personal reasons.