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CP slams Electoral Commission on descriptions ban for May 6 elections

THE Communist Party of Britain (CPB) has slammed a last-minute decision by the Electoral Commission to ban its descriptions as the Communist Party, the Welsh Communist Party and the Scottish Communist Party on ballot papers for the May 6 elections.

All three names have long been registered with the Electoral Commission, which has now decided to ban them with immediate effect.

In previous elections to the Welsh Senedd, the party has described itself as the Welsh Communist Party on ballot papers, campaign materials and election broadcasts. 

Scottish Communists had described themselves as the Scottish Communist Party.

CPB general secretary Rob Griffiths said: “There appears to be no good reason to take this drastic step, and the Electoral Commission must know that forcing us to describe ourselves as ‘the Communist Party of Britain’ in Scotland and Wales is a vote-loser.”

He expressed concern that the commission’s decision is final, with no right of appeal and leaving no time for the registration of other names before nomination papers are submitted for the upcoming elections. 

Mr Griffiths said that Welsh broadcasters had already informed the party that it will qualify for election broadcasts as the Welsh Communist Party, on the basis that it will again be contesting all five regional lists under that name in the Senedd elections.  

“There is a whiff of sabotage about this and it is not the first time in recent years that the Electoral Commission has treated the Communist Party unfairly and incompetently,” he said.

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