Howard Balkind was reported to police by the far-right BNP for tweeting that the party would be ?lucky to get 10 votes? at a by-election last month.
A councillor could be jailed over ?off the cuff? Twitter remarks made during an election count.
Howard Balkind was reported to police by the far-right BNP for tweeting that the party would be ?lucky to get 10 votes? at a by-election last month.
It is alleged that Coun Balkind broke the law by revealing the results of postal votes before polls had closed the Weaste and Seedley ward.
Coun Balkind, a prominent anti-fascist and anti-BNP campaigner in Salford, now faces a wait while the Crown Prosecution Service decided whether to press charges under the Representation of the People Act.
Under the 1983 act, the maximum penalty for making ?any statement relating to the way in which voters have voted at the election? before polls close is six months in prison or a ?5,000 fine.
The BNP?s complaint was made after polling closed, shortly before midnight on Thursday, June 20, over the tweet, posted the previous Tuesday.
Coun Balkind was interviewed by police under caution on the Friday morning after the complaint was lodged with police then passing the file to the CPS to decide whether to prosecute.
Labour?s Paul Wilson eventually won the election with 785 votes while the BNP came fifth, Kay Pollitt polling 74 votes.
The election campaign became mired in controversy after Salford council were legally obliged to supply Ms Pollitt with a room to stage a public meeting, leading to protests joined by Coun Balkind which caused the meeting to be moved at the last minute.
The councillor has now shut down his Twitter account and says he and his family have received ?veiled threats? from the @BNPSalford Twitter account.
BNP leaflets were also stuffed through his letterbox three days in row, Coun Balkind says.
He added that the police are looking into the claims.
Coun Balkind, 61, told the M.E.N. that the remarks were ?off the cuff? and not an attempt to reveal the results of postal voting ? and called the BNP?s complaint ?vexatious?.
He added: ?The whole thing has become ridiculous. The BNP are claiming they suffered because what I tweeted cost them votes but it is their poisonous politics that cost them votes.?
A GMP spokesman said: ?On Thursday 20 June 2013, police were called following allegations of a breach of section 66 of the Representation of the People Act. A man was interviewed under caution at Pendleton police station and enquiries are ongoing.?
A BNP spokesman confirmed that party members had reported Coun Balkind to the police.
He added: ?After legal advice from Salford city council, the Electoral Commission and our own legal team it was established that Mr Balkind acted in a way that breached the secrecy code in regards to the election process by tweeting from his official account, results of the first postal vote opening that he had attended earlier that week, before the close of ballots of the recent Weaste and Seedley by-election.
?We cannot comment any further as a criminal investigation is under way, and for the record the British National Party will press for charges.
?In relation to further claims of harassment, that is nothing more than a smoke screen to cover up the key fact of him breaking the law.?
Good Friday 2013 good friday Dufnering What Is Good Friday Monsanto Protection Act Jenna Wolfe Jarome Iginla
কোন মন্তব্য নেই:
একটি মন্তব্য পোস্ট করুন