A senior British politician has called today for an inquiry into the possibility that some of the millions of postal votes to be cast in this week's general election could be used to rig the vote.
Former House of Commons speaker Lord Wetherill raised concerns after a BBC investigation demonstrated the possibility of vote-rigging using the postal voting system.
According to a BBC estimate, up to 20 percent of all ballots cast in Thursday's general election could be through postal voting.
The report raised the possibility that the losing parties in tightly contested seats would appeal after the count.
A BBC reporter said today he had obtained the ballots of five people who had died in the cliffhanger constituency of Torbay, in southwest England, which could have been enough to deprive the Liberal Democrats of a seat in the 1997 election. The party has a majority of just 12.
Home Office Minister Mr Mike O'Brien said there was no evidence of fraud and the new rules had not made vote-rigging easier. Applications for postal votes expired on May 30th.
Lord Wetherill told the BBC he had tabled a written question on the matter before parliament was dissolved because of constituents' concerns.
"Lord Bassam of Brighton said in his reply that the election registration officers will check applicants for postal votes are legitimate and there would be a proper declaration of identity.
"And it does appear that this is not exactly true.
"That would be a very serious matter if it was a question of abuse, of course," he said.
The BBC said that in one constituency alone, Stevenage, it is expected that up to 25,000 out of 70,000 voters will use postal ballots.
George Smith, chairman of the Association of Electoral Administrators which is overseeing Thursday's polls, admitted he was "a little worried".
"What we don't want to have is a Florida situation with all the loss of credibility that that involves."
The rules concerning postal votes were changed last year, making it no longer necessary to give a reason for voting by post, or to have applications verified by doctors. The BBC reporter had obtained the names of the dead people through recent copies of the local newspaper and checked that they were on the electoral register through an internet site.
Torbay Council admitted it had not checked the details of anyone who applied for a postal vote because of the number of applications, but would do so now.
AFP