Alba to re-run elections marred with 'abuse' claims

Salmond was said to have produced a “black dossier” at Alba’s conference last month, which a party source told The National contained evidence of “vicious attacks” on the party leader's family and “almost every notable member” before announcing the votes would be redone.

The party has now confirmed elections to Alba’s national council will be held next month after “technical issues” were reported in the ballot before the October conference.

An Alba source said: “At the start of the conference, before the recording began, Alex Salmond was set to announce the results of the national office bearer elections in a private session.

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“As he stepped up to speak, he addressed a few complaints he had received regarding the election process, ranging from issues with the voting system to allegations of fraud.

“These were generally small issues like people complaining about not being able to change their vote after already voting to people complaining about voting issues that they themselves hadn't personally experienced.

“These complaints were resolved satisfactorily, leaving no doubt about the legitimacy of the election in relation to these concerns.

“However, Salmond then held up a black dossier that had been leaked to him, containing printouts from various chatrooms where certain members of the NEC [National Executive Committee] facing election, as well as potential NEC candidates, were engaged in vicious attacks on a variety of issues.

“According to Salmond, there were reprehensible personal attacks on almost every notable member of the party, including his family, and evidence of members conspiring as well as suggesting disruptions during the conference.

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“Salmond's tone was resolute as he emphasized that the messages in the dossier were very serious and they posed a threat to the integrity of the internal party election.

“He announced that the election would be rerun in December, with the electoral process paused from the moment of his speech to ensure a fair and just election.

“While Salmond's decisions seem entirely fair, this exposed the presence of a group of people within the party opposed to prominent party members and desperate to exert their own control.

“There was no clear indication of who was involved in these chats or whether any further action would be taken against.”

Alba would not confirm whether it was taking action against those accused of launching attacks on Salmond and other high-profile party members when approached by The National and it is not known who was said to have been involved.

Neale Hanvey (above), the Alba MP for Kirkcaldy, has addressed the controversy publicly, responding to a tweet which accused party member Craig Berry of “propping up the SNP”.

The MP wrote: “There can be no place for whispering campaigns, dishonest rumours or deliberate smears. We don’t need any more false starts or empty promises.

“We don’t need empire builders who put ego before the needs of the Scottish people or the aims of this party. Anyone who seeks to import such scurrilous behaviours into this party or the wider movement must be called out.”

An Alba spokesperson said: “A minor number of technical issues occurred in the online ballot.

“They resulted in a variety of difficulties for some 20 members in an electorate of thousands. However elections both have to be fair and seen to be fair.

“Thus they will be re-run with the same electorate finalising at national council in December when the new team of office-bearers will be fully in place.

“All party members have already been notified, last week, about the timetable for the rearranged internal elections.”