Police probe electoral fraud in UKIP leader's seat

LONDON (Reuters) - Police said on Wednesday they were looking in an allegation of electoral fraud in the parliamentary constituency where the leader of Britain's anti-EU United Kingdom Independence Party lost out in a closely fought vote last week. Nigel Farage came second in Thanet South in southeastern England, polling 16,026 votes with the winner from Prime Minister David Cameron's Conservative Party taking 18,838 votes. UKIP supporters claimed on social media afterwards that the election had been rigged, saying the party had won control of the local council, but had been defeated in the vote to elect the Member of Parliament, even though both elections had taken place last Thursday. The result for Thanet South also came in far later than nearly all the other 650 constituencies across the United Kingdom. "Kent Police have received a report of electoral fraud and inquiries are ongoing," said a police spokeswoman, declining to comment on who had made the allegation. Farage, who has almost single-handedly propelled his party to prominence, quit as UKIP leader after failing to win the seat, but was persuaded to stay by the party's National Executive Committee which rejected his resignation. UKIP, which wants Britain to withdraw from the European Union, won almost 4 million votes in the national election but only one parliamentary seat, despite talking up its chances of doing much better after winning European elections in Britain last year. (Reporting by Michael Holden; Editing by Toby Chopra)