Raja Akhtar, Peterborough's Mayor in 2004, was sentenced to three months at Norwich Crown Court yesterday.

Two others Mohammed Khaliq and Abdul Razaq also members of the Conservative party were sentenced to two months and five months respectively.

Akhtar, Khaliq and Razaq, who all stood in the Central ward, follow in the footsteps of their Labour counterparts, former mayor Mohammed Choudhary, candidate Maqbool Hussein and party official Tariq Mahmood, who were jailed in the spring for rigging the same elections.

Related:
Former mayor found guilty of vote rigging, 15 Feb 2008.

Vote-rigging former mayor jailed, 7 Apr 2008.
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The court room was packed with friends and relatives of the three men for the hearing, a number of whom broke down in tears as the sentences were passed.

Judge Alasdair Darroch told the trio: "It is a very sad day. There are few cases where so many good things have been said about the defendants.

"But electors need to be sure every vote cast is genuine.

"The public has to have confidence in elections, and a clear message is, if you interfere with the electoral process, you will go to prison."

All six men were caught as part of Operation Hooper, launched by Cambridgeshire police after residents turning up at the ballot box to vote were turned away after being told their vote had already been cast.

The investigation revealed that the men had tampered with postal voting forms, sending ballot papers to away addresses so they could hijack them.

Today, the detective who led the £1 million operation said he hoped that the prison sentences would bring back confidence to Peterborough voters who had lost faith in the election process.

Detective Chief Inspector Ian Tandy said: "No one likes to see people sent to prison, but when you rig votes and turn an election into a farce, jail is the only option.

"Hopefully, seeing six men sent to prison will mean voters have their confidence in the voting system restored."

Akhtar (48), of Newark Avenue, Peterborough, was found guilty of one count of forgery at a trial which finished in July this year, and was sentenced to three months in prison.

Razaq (52), also of Newark Avenue, was convicted of six counts of forgery at the same trial.

He was sentenced to five months in jail.

Khaliq (50), of Foxdale, New England, Peterborough – the only one of the three to fail in his election bid – had pleaded guilty to two counts of forgery, and was yesterday sentenced to two months in prison.

City council chief executive and election returning officer Gillian Beasley said today the outcome of the two trials should serve as a "stark warning" to anyone considering election fraud or any other kind of fraud in Peterborough, as they would be found out and prosecuted.

In the wake of the scandal, the city council took a number of measures to ensure the elections were fair and free in 2005, including installing CCTV and mobile cameras to film people as they delivered postal votes to the council and at polling stations.