by Thom Morris

tmorris@thekmgroup.co.uk

A landlord who stood for election to Ashford council as a Conservative candidate has been arrested on suspicion of voting fraud.

It's understood the arrest of Cengizhan Cerit, who owns a number of properties in the town, follows concerns over postal votes cast in the by-election for Beaver Ward last November.

Suspicions were raised about alleged similarities in handwriting on the postal votes.

An investigation was launched by Ashford council’s returning officer and chief executive John Bunnett (pictured), before it was handed over to the police for further scrutiny.

The Primrose Drive resident ended up losing the contest by 87 votes to Labour candidate Rebecca Rutter. She received 336 votes compared to Mr Cerit’s 249 votes.

Conservative Party candidate Mr Cerit’s agent for the election was Gordon Williams, who is also the parliamentary agent for Ashford MP Damian Green and Folkestone and Hythe MP Damian Collins.

Immigration minister Mr Green had supported Mr Cerit’s attempts to become a Conservative councillor by campaigning with him in Ashford in the run-up to election day.

But Mr Williams said that Mr Green would not have been aware of the allegations at the time he joined Mr Cerit on the stump.

"The Conservative Party has no truck with any action that brings elections into disrepute," he said.

Mr Cerit, 46, a British Turk, manages two companies – Sisi Property Ltd and Chc (Ashford) Ltd, according to online records.

Sisi Property has its registered offices in Bank Street, Ashford, which is also the registered address for Chc (Ashford) Ltd, which is also understood to run Perfect Pizza, also on Bank Street.

The father-of-two was born in Ceyhan, in Turkey, and, after his school days, moved to England to study business at the University of Surrey in Guildford.

He later set up his takeaway business, before then moving into property.

Kent Police have confirmed that a 46-year-old man from Ashford has been arrested on suspicion of fraud and offences against the Representation of the Peoples Act.

A police spokesman said: "He was arrested on Tuesday, December 20, and is currently on police bail pending further investigation."

Mr Williams said all leading political parties strived to ensure that elections were run in accordance with electoral law.

He said: "Should a member of the Ashford Conservative Party be proven to have acted in an election outside of the law then expulsion from the party would be swift."

He added: "Conservative associations up and down the country always strive hard to ensure the highest standards are maintained in what they do, particularly with elections.

"With this in mind, this association will await the outcome of the current investigation before determining if further action is necessary."

Ashford council declined to comment.

Mr Cerit was unavailable for comment at the time of going to press.