The city of Stockholm has reported suspected election fraud to the police in Järva, based on information in an editorial in Svenska Dagbladet, and a preliminary investigation has been launched.
On the initiative of the Moderates, the municipal board met on Friday. There, M wanted the municipal board to decide to immediately order the state management office to appoint an external investigation into the impropriety during the voting. KD and L also demanded in a joint letter that an urgent independent investigation should be appointed, and that the review should investigate whether there is a need for a re-election.
But no decision on those proposals was taken by the municipal board on Friday. Instead, they are both sent for processing.
Before deciding on a case in the municipal board, it is common for it to be prepared by officials who gather facts and opinions and based on that formulate a proposal for a decision. M, KD and L said before today's meeting that their proposal was too urgent to wait for preparation.
- Of course, no preparation is required for the municipal board to be able to make a decision to appoint an independent review. To first let officials investigate whether one should even investigate falls on its own unreasonableness and would only delay a very urgent issue, says Christofer Fjellner, group leader for the Moderates in the city of Stockholm.
Fjellner says that it is important that the city quickly investigates both whether something went wrong in this election and what needs to be done differently before the next election.
- The new term has already started and with the red-green chaos in the Riksdag, the risk of a by-election is high, he says.
He says, however, that there is no reason to "here and now" question the election results, but still wants to investigate "improprieties" in order to inform the Electoral Authority or the police.
Karin Wanngård (S), chairman of the municipal board and representative of the red-green board, says after the meeting that the information in the media about the election in Järva is serious and that it is right that they be reported to the police.
However, she wants the letters from M, KD and L to be prepared before the municipal board makes a decision about them.
- We have a compulsion to prepare, which the opposition is well aware of, she says.
When asked if she wants to see an external review, she says this is the subject of a police investigation.
- We are waiting for the police investigation and then the municipal board will of course receive an answer to the two letters that have now gone in for preparation, she says.
Political scientist Erik Wångmar says that there are exceptions to the preparation requirement.
- A given example is if there is some type of major accident that requires greater resources to be made available. Then of course it is a given that you do not need to prepare the case.
But Wångmar finds it very difficult to see why the proposals for an external investigation would be so urgent that they would not have time to prepare.
- Of course, there can be a point in the city conducting an investigation to see how Stockholm Municipality's election committee should act in the future to minimize the risk of improprieties. But I find it extremely difficult to see that it would then be so urgent, says Wångmar.
He does not buy the argument that there would be a rush because there could soon be new elections.
- It is required that the Prime Minister's proposals have been voted down four times. It won't happen so quickly. And besides, the election must be held within three months of the last downvote.
Rather, he interprets the proposal as a sign that the Moderates are on the warpath and want something to argue about.
When asked if this cannot be interpreted as M being on the warpath, M's group leader Christofer Fjellner replies:
- No, I only have one task in this context and that is to do everything I can to guarantee that all Stockholmers, regardless of where they come from or live, are guaranteed free and fair elections.
