Winston McKenzie, would-be Mayoral candidate former boxer (Pic: Graham Hussey)
Winston McKenzie, the former boxer from Croydon, has been barred from standing in the Mayoral election after missing the deadline for filing paperwork.
McKemzie was standing as the candidate for the English Democrats party, an English nationalist party that operates under the slogan: ‘putting England first.’
The closing date for the nominations process was March 31 at 4pm, at which point McKenzie’s paperwork was incomplete, and, according to London Elects, contained duplicate signatures from other candidates nomination papers.
Robin Tilbrook, chairman of the English Democrats Party, expressed his frustration at McKenzie’s disqualification, saying: “If even one of those [signatures] is a duplicate then a candidate will be prevented from standing!”
“The hurdles to stand in the London Mayoralty have deliberately been made more difficult than for any other elected position in the whole country,”
“To stand the cost is phenomenal at £20,000 and the form filling is a daunting task for those whose campaign coffers are not filled by big business or big donors.”
McKenzie with English Democrats Party Chairman, Robin Tilbrook (Pic: English Democrats Party)
A spokesperson for the UK Electoral Commission told ELL that this figure is incorrect, as the cost to stand is £10,000, not £20,000.
Speaking of McKenzie’s disqualification, London Elects said “The English Democrats prospective candidate for London Mayor, Winston McKenzie, met with London Elects for the first time at 13.45 on March 31 2016. At that time, the paperwork was incomplete. Mr McKenzie was given the opportunity to resolve matters by the 4pm legal deadline.
McKenzie stood in the 2008 Mayoral Election as an independent candidate, netting only 0.2 per cent of first preference votes, making him the lowest scoring candidate in the running.
The Electoral Commission published a report last year that suggested the £10,000 deposit required to stand should be scrapped, leaving only the 330 signatures, 10 from each of the 33 London boroughs, as the only barrier to entry, ensuring that each candidate has enough support to contest the election.
