An election watchdog has said that anti-fraud plans must be improved ahead of the General Election, after finding one in five returning officers fail to meet standards. Skip related content
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Election anti-fraud plans 'must be improved'
A report by the Electoral Commission into June's European elections said 73 local officers missed its target for "identifying and managing the risk of electoral malpractice". Most fell short because they did not have any formal, written plans in place to tackle the issue.
The Commission warned that urgent action is needed to prepare properly for the next Westminster poll, which must be held by June of next year. It has sent town halls a checklist of measures they must put in place for that election, which is likely to feature a record number of candidates.
The report found that the European poll, despite localised problems with the production of postal ballots, was "well run" overall.
A total of 46 cases of electoral malpractice were recorded by police in Great Britain - less than half of the 103 in the previous year's local council elections. Eight out of ten voters said they believed the voting to be very safe or fairly safe from fraud or abuse but 27 per cent of voters said they were very or fairly concerned about fraud.
A "significant number" of returning officers did not have formal plans in place for public awareness activities, the Commission also found.
Jenny Watson, chair of the Electoral Commission, said: " I'm very glad to see that the June 2009 elections were, on the whole, a success. But a General Election is different. It needs to be organised in a much shorter period of time and it usually produces a higher turnout than European Elections do... there is no room for complacency."
Tributes have been paid to a schoolgirl who died after slipping in her high heels and falling under a train while waving goodbye to her friends.
