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Most British Asians are genuinely committed to our (almost) clean electoral system. Most also find dishonour unbearable; what others think of us matters hugely, perhaps a little too much. However, it is also true that most postal-vote scandals have, thus far, involved Asian candidates and their acolytes.
The latest anti-hero to emerge from the bins of electoral iniquity is Eshaq Khan, Tory councillor in Slough, found guilty of vote-rigging using postal ballots and fake names. He was stripped of his seat and banned from holding public office for five years. The judge in his case, Richard Mawrey, solemnly concluded this was not an isolated incident. We have indeed been there before, in several constituencies where there are significant numbers of citizens with roots stretching to the Indian subcontinent.
Britain does have sleazy politicians - but they cannot buy or cheat their way into Parliament.
Men like Khan are so desperate for power they contaminate the political processes of this nation. But when they are exposed, the stain of shame spreads visibly, in mosques, temples, homes and streets.
So why do they do it? The wannabe politicians know all too well that sham elections and immoral politicians have kept back progress in Bangladesh, Pakistan and in India, too. Is it an inherited trait, a throwback to old ways that they cannot shed? Surely not. Surveys show that immigrants value the democracy they find in the UK, and look back in anger at the lack of it in their own countries.
I think there are two reasons. The cheats have come to believe that any means justifies the end because of their under-representation in political institutions. They have to get that seat, whatever it takes. And, secondly, they suffer from hideously swollen egos, believing they are so indispensable and clever they can bypass rules with impunity.
What is more, the dodgy dealers have been tolerated by the mainstream parties for decades. In the past it was mainly Labour candidates who behaved badly; now the rot has spread to the Tories and Lib-Dems, too. And the Electoral Commission is moribund. A surge in electoral fraud is expected in the May local elections.
Brown, Clegg and Cameron need to wake up now and toughen up the laws and checks on postal votes. Inaction on this, warns Judge Mawrey, will prove "lethal to the democratic process". It will also give us Asians a terrible name - again.
Reader views (3)
Immigrants bring the corruption, diseases and violence of their home countries with them when they come here. Australia and Canada take the ones who have something to offer, we take the rest. Why?
- Les, Middlesbrough, UK, 27/03/2008 16:47
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Probably the best way around this problem is to ban postal voting full stop, and encourage the electorate to get off their bums and actually get to a polling booth or is that to much to ask of the Asian community.
- Bazzer, West Country, England., 25/03/2008 09:19
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I do value Yasmin Alibai-Brown's contribution to the Standard and appreciate her love of the UK especially as she herself was a Ugandan refugee during the time of Idi Amin's rule of that country. It would be wonderful if she stood as a parliamentary candidate as she is the voice of reason for the Asians living in Britain. Incidentally Yasmin, keep on trying to get Muslim women to remove the scarf and the full Muslim get-up. That would be an enormous step forward for social cohesion!
- Barbara, Walton-on-Thames, England, 20/03/2008 13:39
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