The Singh electoral fraud trial

Stuff reports:

Eight Auckland men, all but one named Singh, have had their trial for alleged electoral fraud moved to the High Court because of the “public interest” in the case.

Labour Party candidate Daljit Singh was charged in mid-2010 with forging voting documents in Auckland’s super-city elections.

It’s been two and a half years since the election, and only now is the trial being moved!

Daljit, a justice of the peace, is charged with election fraud over the alleged forging of change of address forms for hundreds of voters in south Auckland.

Singh was backed by Labour and stood for the Papatoetoe Community Board.

Singh has also been at Labour Party fundraisers since his arrest.

The men were going to face trial in the Manukau District Court but the case was moved to the High Court today.

Justice Timothy Brewer said the case had been transferred “because of the public interest factor”.

He set a trial date for October 14 and remanded all the men on bail.

I find it unacceptable that this case takes three years to go to trial. Even worse it will be held after voting starts in the 2013 local body elections, for alleged offences for the 2010 elections.

We need to get serious about the way electoral crimes and breaches are dealt with in NZ.

To be fair to the Police, in this case they are not the log jam. They arrested Singh in 2010.

But it has now been 18 months since the 2011 general election, and the Police appear to have done nothing with the 20+ cases referred to them by the Electoral Commission.