Police officers were seen placing a ballot paper into a clear, plastic evidence bag
A General Election count has descended into chaos as police have been called in to investigate. It is believed that Police Scotland officers are gathering evidence in suspected cases of alleged ballot fraud as the count gets underway at the Emirates Arena in Glasgow, Scotland, where six seats are being contested.
Election officials have reportedly informed journalists that four papers were a concern, including one in the Glasgow West constituency.
According to MailOnline, police officers could be seen placing a ballot paper into a clear, plastic evidence bag, reports the Express.
At 11.20pm, Police Scotland is said to have requested the removal of two out of the four ballot papers, thought to be for the Glasgow South-West constituency.
In the meantime, senior Scottish Tory MSP Murdo Fraser has suggested his party could make gains in Scotland.
Speaking to reporters at the Perth election count, Mr Fraser stated the exit poll was in “two parts”, with voters south of the border “looking for a change”, while those in Scotland were voting against the SNP.
However, the SNP were predicted to plummet to just 10 seats – a significant drop from 48 in the 2019 election.
Mr Fraser commented: “The exit poll clearly is in two parts, you’ve got the situation south of the border which very much is in line with polling, what we expected.”
“Clearly people are casting a verdict on 14 years of Conservative government, five prime ministers, and the country was looking for a change.”
“The situation in Scotland, clearly, is a very different one because it looks like people are actually making up their minds how to vote based primarily on a verdict on 17 years of the SNP in government and clearly have not liked what they have seen from the SNP and they’re up for an even bigger change, potentially, in Scotland.”
“It does look like, on the basis of the exit poll, the Conservatives might not just be looking to hold the seats we have in Scotland but actually might make gains.”
Nicola Sturgeon, Scotland’s former First Minister, acknowledged that Thursday was “not a good night for the SNP”.
Speaking on ITV, she responded to the exit poll which indicated her party could be down 38 seats from the 2019 election results.
She remarked: “This is not a good night for the SNP on these numbers. I think there will be a question about whether there was enough in the campaign to give out, effectively, a USP to the SNP in an election that was about getting the Tories out and replacing them with Labour.”