The left party in crisis after suspected election fraud in Borlänge

"It comes completely like a bolt from the blue."

That's what the Left Party's group leader in Borlänge, Matts Hammarqvist, says about a preliminary investigation into suspected election fraud.

The background is that his party colleague Mohamed Abdukardir Ali was crossed into the Riksdag, perhaps in an unauthorized way: people entitled to vote were reportedly provided with pre-crossed ballot papers and driven to an early voting station. Another left-wing politician, who appears to be elected through personal votes in the city's municipal council, is also part of the investigation. And the V-line is said to have been taken on the bed, to then panic (Expressen 21/9).

If the information is correct, it is very serious - and ultimately a direct blow to democracy.

The attitude testifies to the lack of respect for both the voters and the democratic assemblies.

But already now another thing is clear. This is a total failure for the Left Party, which cannot cope with the most basic task for a party: keep track of who is placed on the lists before an election.

Recently, the party has struck off 33 candidates in connection with Expressen revealing that they had, among other things, spread anti-Semitic conspiracy theories and expressed support for terror. And when vice-chairman Ida Gabrielsson answers why they ended up there, she explains away the unsuitable people by saying that "it is extremely difficult to keep track of all the thousands of candidates far down the lists" (TV4 7/9).

It is a strange attitude, which testifies to the lack of respect for both the voters and the democratic assemblies.

Even those at the bottom of the lists are in a selectable place, in the sense that they can all be ticked. This means that all candidates must be able to represent the party and manage the voters' trust in a fair way.

If the election committee does not have time to carry out thorough checks, the number can simply be reduced to a manageable level. Because it is remarkable that V's group leader in Borlänge initially claimed that he did not know who Mohamed Abdukardir Ali was and lacked his contact details.

The Left Party's indifferent attitude also risks spreading mistrust. Partly against suitable candidates who were born abroad, who are on the lists because of their hard work and skills. Partly against voters who became Swedish citizens as adults, who in the post-election debate were reduced to "voting cattle" and whose votes some began to regard as less legitimate.

Why are people with unacceptable views attracted to the Left Party?

That Mohamed Abdukardir Ali would be persuaded to take a time out, which V's party secretary Maria Forsberg announced on Tuesday afternoon, was thus in the direction of the tangent. On the other hand, it is more surprising that he is offered a job at the party's office with a salary equivalent to a member of parliament's fee of SEK 81,400, according to information to Borlänge Tidning. And the measure is far from sufficient.

Because while the suspected electoral fraud must be investigated by the authorities, the Left Party's internal failure is a fact. What the party needs to do is to appoint an accident commission, where the structure and organization are examined from top to bottom and relevant questions get their answers.

Why are people with unacceptable views attracted to the Left Party? Why is it that the candidate check fails again and again? And why is it precisely Nooshi Dadgostar who has no damn order in his party?

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