Moderates knew of election list fraud: report
Highly placed leaders of the Moderate Party (Moderaterna) have known for weeks that electoral fraud was being committed within the local organization in Stockholm, according to a media report.
Mats Rudin, a Moderate councilor in Stockholm, was forced to stand down on Friday after admitting to cheating to secure a nomination for this year’s general election. He was ranked No. 8 on the party’s list which would have guaranteed him a seat in parliament (Riksdag) if the list had been been confirmed.
Instead, a meeting that would have selected candidates was cancelled on Friday after Rudin’s admission. The national daily Dagens Nyheter, which broke the story, said that leading members of the Moderates have known for weeks about the situation.
Party ombudsman Sverker Eriksson said Rudin was standing down after admitting he paid membership fees for new members of the party, thereby boosting his chances to get the nomination. “He did not understand the regulations.”
Rudin said “sure, it’s happened that I’ve enrolled some new members–friends and others to Moderaterna, pretty often even–and I didn’t take 100 kronor ($14) from them. It seemed petty.”
Justice Minister Beatrice Ask, herself a Moderate, told Dagens Nyheter on Saturday that the entire matter would be investigated.
“I think it extremely good that it’s been decided to get to the bottom of these rumours and indications.”
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Mats Rudin, a Moderate councilor in Stockholm, was forced to stand down on Friday after admitting to cheating to secure a nomination for this year’s general election. He was ranked No. 8 on the party’s list which would have guaranteed him a seat in parliament (Riksdag) if the list had been been confirmed.
Instead, a meeting that would have selected candidates was cancelled on Friday after Rudin’s admission. The national daily Dagens Nyheter, which broke the story, said that leading members of the Moderates have known for weeks about the situation.
Party ombudsman Sverker Eriksson said Rudin was standing down after admitting he paid membership fees for new members of the party, thereby boosting his chances to get the nomination. “He did not understand the regulations.”
Rudin said “sure, it’s happened that I’ve enrolled some new members–friends and others to Moderaterna, pretty often even–and I didn’t take 100 kronor ($14) from them. It seemed petty.”
Justice Minister Beatrice Ask, herself a Moderate, told Dagens Nyheter on Saturday that the entire matter would be investigated.
“I think it extremely good that it’s been decided to get to the bottom of these rumours and indications.”
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