NIGEL FARAGE has blasted “deeply concerning” levels of family voting in a crunch by-election following the release of a volunteer report.
Polling stations slammed shut in Gorton and Denton at 10pm on Thursday with the ballot coming down to a tight three-horse race between Reform UK, Labour and the Greens.
But Nigel Farage has said a report of high levels of family voting in the Gorton and Denton by-election “raises serious questions about the integrity of the democratic process in predominantly Muslim areas”.
The leader of Reform UK said on X: “Incidents of family voting in Gorton & Denton reached the highest levels of any election in the past 10 years.
“This is deeply concerning and raises serious questions about the integrity of the democratic process in predominantly Muslim areas.”
Family voting is an illegal practice where two voters either confer, collude or direct each other on voting and can involve husbands telling their wives how to vote.
TRAGIC END
Cop, 23, killed himself in 100mph crash after smashing into tree
FATAL FALL
Oasis fan who plunged to death at Wembley gig fell over barrier just 3ft high
It comes as an election observer group has raised concerns over “concerningly high levels of family voting”.
Democracy Volunteers said they attended 22 of the 45 polling stations in the constituency, spending 30 to 45 minutes in each, and witnessed family voting in 15 of the 22 polling stations observed.
The group said they observed a sample of 545 individuals casting their vote and saw 32 cases of family voting in total, including nine cases in one polling station.
Farage’s concerns were in response to a post from Sky News on the group’s report into family voting in the by-election.
According to the post, the Electoral Commission gives Democracy Volunteers access to polling stations and only they and the police are permitted to enter.
But while the Reform UK leader has questioned the process in “predominantly Muslim areas” the group has not specified who has taken part in the illegal practice.
Director of Democracy Volunteers, John Ault, said on Thursday night: “Today we have seen concerningly high levels of family voting in Gorton and Denton.
“Based on our assessment of today’s observations, we have seen the highest levels of family voting at any election in our 10-year history of observing elections in the UK.
“We rarely issue a report on the night of an election, but the data we have collected today on family voting, when compared to other recent by-elections, is extremely high.
“In the other recent Westminster parliamentary by-election in Runcorn and Helsby we saw family voting in 12% of polling stations, affecting 1% of voters.
“In Gorton and Denton, we observed family voting in 68% of polling stations, affecting 12% of those voters observed.”
A leading pollster has also said he intends to raise serious concerns about voting in the by-election, The Independent reports.
Manchester City Council has also criticised Democracy Volunteers for not flagging their concerns earlier on Thursday.
A spokesperson for the acting returning officer at the by-election said in a statement: “Polling station staff are trained to look out for any evidence of undue influence on voters. No such issues have been reported today.
“If Democracy Volunteers were so concerned about alleged issues they could and should have raised them with us during polling hours so that immediate action could be taken.
“We have operated a central by-election hub which has been rapidly responding to reported issues during the day, in liaison with the police – who had a presence at every polling station – where necessary.
“It is extremely disappointing that Democracy Volunteers have waited until after polls have closed to make such claims.”
The Prime Minister’s chances of staying in Downing Street rest on the crucial vote with the seat seen as a three-way tie between Labour, Reform and the Greens.
Polling stations opened at 7am on Thursday and closed at 10pm.
The results in the tight contest will be in the early hours barring any recounts.