Landlord forged tenants' signatures in vote rigging case

A landlord has been found guilty of trying to rig an election by forging the signatures of his tenants on 200 postal votes.

Turkish businessman Cengizhan Cerit, also known as Jem Cerit, would have won the bye-election in Ashford, Kent, in November 2011 if the forged votes been accepted.

Cerit, who owns more than 60 properties in the Ashford area, had also submitted his nomination paper with false signatures.

He was found guilty of three charges of electoral fraud and is due to be sentenced today.