0050 Hrs GMT
London
Wednesday
22 September 2010
Editor © Muhammad Haque
BHANGEELAAR! "No" to an elected mayor in Tower Hamlets CAMPAIGN statement about Returning Officer "Dr" Kevan Collins, is on the Guardian site:
[Quoting the Guardian web site carrying the statement about the role of Tower Hamlets 'returning officer' 'Dr' Kevan Collins’ in the conduct of the 'referendum on the issue of a mayor' dated 6 May 2010 London Wednesday 22 September 2010]
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· Given that almost 40,000 votes for “no” are recorded in the reported claims attributed to the “returning officer”, don’t that many people in a London borough deserve some sort of explanation as to why so many “no” campaign supporters became “overnight candidates to become the candidate for the labour party to be mayor”?
We could ask more questions. Not here at this moment though.
One legal and constitutional question that we have been asking the returning officer since May 2010 is this: did he [“dr” Kevan Collins, the ‘returning officer’] do his job of scrutinising the expenditure of the sides to the ‘referendum’?
Months have passed, and the “retuning officer” has not conclusively answered this question.
By “conclusively” we mean categorical, transparent evidence of what he actually did – if he did anything along the lines- to ensure that the limit set on expenditure was not exceeded.
We know for a fact – as do many people in tower hamlets – that a very expensive propaganda was run including the use of advertisements carried in many locally circulated [apparently commercial] outlets which could not have been published and or distributed without spending several times the sum allowed in the expenditure limit.
Had the “retuning officer” audited those?
If he had, how did he do the audit?
Where was the audit done?
Who was employed or engaged or involved in the audit?
Who witnessed the audit?
Why has the “Returning Officer” been secretive about it all?
Where is the audit in writing?
In view of the report in the past eight hours [1600 Hrs GMT 21 September 2010 to 0020 Hrs GMT 22 September 2010] to saying that the Tory group leader on Tower Hamlets Council has cited to the London Metropolitan Police alleged breaches of expenditure limits by a candidate to become the Labour Party’s candidate, shouldn’t the same “legal and constitutional principle” be applied and be seen to be being applied by the “Returning Officer” to the conduct of the campaign on the “Referendum” itself?
[Unquoting the Guardian web site carrying the statement about the role of Tower Hamlets 'returning officer' 'Dr' Kevan Collins’ in the conduct of the 'referendum on the issue of a mayor' dated 6 May 2010 London Wednesday 22 September 2010]
Tuesday, 21 September 2010
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