British election officials demand postal vote safeguards after third Labour victory News
British election officials demand postal vote safeguards after third Labour victory

[JURIST] Despite a low 61% turnout [Liverpool Daily Post report] and an undisputed third-term victory [latest BBC results] for Prime Minister Tony Blair and his Labour Party [party website] in Thursday's UK election, officials from the UK Electoral Commission [official website] Friday warned of voting irregularities and called for implementing reforms [Electoral Commission postal voting report, April 2005] to prevent future postal voting fraud. About 4 million people requested postal ballots [Royal Mail postal voting guide] for Thursday's vote and some voters, including BBC Radio hosts John Humphrys [Press Association report] and Mariella Frostrup [BBC report] were turned away at the polls because postal ballots had improperly been requested in their names. Currently, election officials are not permitted to request identification at the polls, which officials believe encourages fraud. Liberal Democrat [party website] candidate Ayoub Kahn, who lost his race for a Birmingham seat by 6,801 votes. has already made allegations of ballot rigging [Guardian report] and is considering filing charges with the High Court. Postal voting was controversial in the run-up to the election; a Birmingham city leader launched a High Court challenge in an unsuccessful effort to force changes before the May 5 poll. BBC News has more.

THIS DAY @ LAW

Indian National Congress founded

The Indian National Congress (INC) was founded on December 28, 1885 in Bombay (now Mumbai), India. In subsequent decades, the so-called Congress Party would advocate for Indian independence from the UK, which was eventually achieved in 1947. The first Prime Minister of independent India, Jawaharlal Nehru, was elected as a member of the INC. Learn more about the history and founding of the Indian National Congress.

Congress recognized Pledge of Allegiance

On December 28, 1945, Congress officially recognized the Pledge of Allegiance and encouraged its recitation in schools. The Pledge was supposedly written in 1892 by Francis Bellamy, a Baptist minister, to celebrate the 400th anniversary of Columbus Day. The words “under God” were added by Congress in 1954. The revised version of the Pledge was the subject of litigation before the United States Supreme Court originally brought by Michael Newdow, a parent who unsuccessfully objected to his daughter's school district policy requiring daily recitation of the Pledge. The court ruled that Newdow had no standing.

Nepal ends monarchy, establishes republic

On December 28, 2007, the Kingdom of Nepal's interim parliament ended the country's monarchy and established the Republic of Nepal. Free elections were held on April 10 of the following year to elect a Constituent Assembly.

Learn more about the rise of democracy in Nepal.