Ballot box 'discrepancies' cause delay in London mayoral election result

'I am hearing the problem with the count is more significant than was first let on. The computer which counts the votes has apparently allocated them to the wrong party'

Members of the counting staff use electronic machines to count ballot papers at a count centre in north London on May 6, 2016 (Getty Images / AFP)

A voting system hiccup delayed the official announcement of the result of the London mayoral elections last night, after printing problems caused chaos at polling stations in Barnet.

Sadiq Khan’s victory in the London Mayoral Elections was declared by Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn at 7pm on Friday and widely reported by press throughout the evening.

However, the official news that Mr Khan had beaten Zac Goldsmith to City Hall with 57 per cent of the votes wasn’t announced until after midnight, due to “small discrepancies within the electoral figures”, according to London Elects.

Electronic voting systems, which count ballot papers automatically, were used in three polling stations – Alexandra Palace in north London, Olympia in west London and Excel in east London.

London Elects representatives working at these venues said they were not aware of any problems with the system during the day, but news of delays reached them later on Friday evening from City Hall.

There were unconfirmed reports that some votes had gone to the wrong candidate.

“Bad news from City Hall. I am hearing the problem with the count is more significant than was first let on. The computer which counts the votes has apparently allocated them to the wrong party,” tweeted Theo Usherwood, political editor of LBC last night.

But a spokesperson from London Elects denied that this was the case, saying that the problem was of a more technical nature. A statement is being prepared for release later today.

London mayoral candidate Sadiq Khan arrives with his wife Saadiya to cast their votes at a polling station in Streatham, south west London. (Gareth Fulller / PA)

A London Elects aplogised for the delay last night. A statement said: “We have to take the time to resolve these issues”.

An investigation will take place into a ballot paper “printing error” in Barnet, where many people were turned away from the area’s 155 polling stations on Thursday morning as their names were not on the list.

While voters were able to vote by an emergency proxy later in the day, there was anger at the way the voting system was run.

“I had one lady who was crying because she was so upset,” Arjun Mittra, a Labour councillor for East Finchley ward, told The Independent.

“She had come at 7am to vote because she was going away for the day, she said she was disenfranchised. It's a disgrace."

This is not the first time that technical problems have pushed back the announcement of election results. In the 2012 London Mayor elections, a power cut at Alexandra Palace, where electronic systems were being used, meant that the result was also delayed until around midnight.

The Conservatives, meanwhile, have complained about the blunder in Barnet that meant voters were turned away from the ballot box.

The leader of the Conservative group in the London Assembly, Gareth Bacon, demanded a “full and urgent inquiry”, claiming any lost votes could have affected the allocation of London-wide seats, and also hit out at the delays in the mayoral election results.

He said: “The total incompetence of London Elects and Barnet Council in their handling of this ballot has led to serious questions over the London-wide list result and caused huge delays in the counting process.

”To have voters turned away for any reason is completely unacceptable. The votes that were unable to be cast could very well have altered the result of the London-wide list allocation. It is essential that voters have faith in the electoral process and effectively disenfranchising people for three hours on polling day totally undermines this.

“We are demanding a full explanation for this abysmal administrative performance."