European citizens living in an east London borough say they have been wrongly turned away from local election polling stations because they are foreign.
Outraged voters have told of their fury after officials told them they could not take part in today’s vote in Tower Hamlets because they are from the EU.
Romain Sauron, a French national who has lived in the capital for 13 years, was reportedly was refused a ballot in Mile End after being marked as an EU national.
Speaking to the Guardian, Sauron described becoming embroiled in a row with officials at the polling station on Thursday before they eventually backed down.
“I was tagged as an EU citizen. I think many people would have walked away, would have felt ashamed,” Sauron told the newspaper.
“They checked their leaflet and told me: ‘No, you can’t vote’. I suspect they didn’t read it properly and their training was very poor.”
Another EU citizen living in the same borough said they were also turned away from a polling station, adding that a “G” had been marked up against their name.
Dragos Serban, a Romanian who has lived in the UK for eight years, said officials had made clear that “certain EU citizens cannot vote”, before changing their minds.
A Tower Hamlets Council spokesman told the Standard: “We’ve not had reports of people being turned away across the borough but anyone with concerns should report them to this address: www.towerhamlets.gov.uk/electoralfraud or @towerhamletsnow.”
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EU citizens, with the exception of Irish citizens, are not entitled to vote in general elections, but they are allowed to vote in local and elections.
All seats in London's borough councils involved in today’s vote, as well as mayoral elections in Hackney, Lewisham, Newham and Tower Hamlets. Voting began at 7am today before closing again at 10pm.
Most of the results are be expected to come through during the course of the night – with the busiest period being the early hours of the morning.
