Robert ap Mugabe

I haven't posted much on the upcoming local elections because of the simple fact that they are so local. Something which interests me here, won't be of any interest to someone 5 miles away in a different ward, let alone someone the other side of Wales. Having said that, some of the fights are too interesting to ignore.

Already we have two incidents of alleged fraud in Swansea. The Tory candidate has been accused by opponents of fraud- something to do with the names on his nomination card, and an un-named woman has been arrested for electoral fraud. We have no name, no details of the allegation and no knowledge of what party she was working/campaigning for. Will we find out before May 1st? Hopefully yes!

Another interesting battle is in Gwynedd, where Plaid's only council is under threat from a new party, Llais Gwynedd (it used to be Llais y Bobl, until someone pointed out that The People's Voice already existed in Blaenau Gwent). The Plaid-ruled Council is in the midst of a primary school re-organisation which has many people up in arms. I don't know enough about the state of education in Gwynedd to comment on who's right and wrong, but Llais Gwynedd interests me, just as the People's Voice did. Llais Gwynedd was set up by a man called Aeron Jones, a man I have only heard speak through his keyboard (via Maes-e).

Unfortunately, after a week of posting on that site he has now deleted all his posts, probably after a rollocking from someone in his party with a little more political nous. Within a few posts the founder of Llais Gwynedd had managed to turn every reader against his own party. His posts were filled with innuendos, scandal rumours and, apparently, lies. His best comment was, to be frank, hilariously shocking.

Translated from Welsh, the comment reads...

In Zimbabwe they opened the polling boxes on the night, then count the votes the next morning. And we all know what happened there.Thank God that we live in Gwynedd where they keep the boxes closed until Friday morning without breaking the seal, or do they open the boxes on Thursday night and leave them open until the next morning - I wonder!

That's right, the founder of a political party with high expectations of success on May 1st is accusing the Plaid controlled Gwynedd Council of preparing a Zimbabwe-style electoral fraud!

I wonder what Mr Aeron Jones would make of the two alleged fraudsters down Swansea way? Probably compare them to Mussolini or Stalin I guess!

Note: Ordovicius also deals with the subject of Llais Gwynedd here