Ex-Tory councillor found guilty of trying to rig vote

A FORMER Conservative councillor in West Yorkshire has been found guilty in his absence of vote-rigging after he failed to appear at his trial.

A warrant has been issued for the arrest of 63-year-old Mohammed Saghir, who was found guilty at Bradford Crown Court yesterday of five charges of trying to gain votes by filling out bogus application forms.

Saghir had been acting as his son's campaign manager during local elections in May 2008 when he filled out proxy vote application forms for five voters.

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Saghir, of Gibbet Street, Pellon, Halifax, went on trial in his absence after Judge James Spencer QC told the jury the defendant had "chosen not to come". After they returned their unanimous guilty verdicts, it was confirmed Saghir was believed to be in Pakistan. Judge Spencer said he had already issued a warrant for his arrest when he returns to this country, and he would then be brought to the court for sentencing.

The court heard Saghir, a former Tory councillor in Halifax, was working as an election agent for his son Shakar, who stood as an independent candidate in the town's Park ward in 2008.

Prosecutor Nicholas Barker said the offences came to light after an officer at Calderdale Council became suspicious about similar-looking signatures on five proxy vote application forms.

A handwriting expert concluded there was "moderate support" for saying Mohammed Saghir had written the forms.

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Saghir was questioned about the forms in May 2008 and claimed it was normal election practice for him and his agents to complete proxy vote forms and for himself and members of his family to be selected to cast votes for others.

Saghir suggested he had been tricked by others who had come to him with false proxy forms.

Mr Barker alleged that Saghir had sought to obtain the votes of other people without their consent, and that the obvious inference was he was intending for those votes to be cast to the advantage of his son.

Saghir had denied the five charges of applying for a proxy vote as some other person.

In a defence statement submitted on Saghir's behalf in November last year, he denied filling in the forms and suggested that they were completed by political opponents to discredit him.