While some welcomed the incarceration of former mayor Mohammed Choudhary along with Maqbool Hussein and Tariq Mahmood, others thought the punishment too harsh.

Welcoming the sentences, chief executive of Peterborough City Council Gillian Beasley said: "Nobody should be in any doubt that electoral fraud is a serious crime and anybody that is tempted to commit such an offence will be caught and could face prison.

"People can be confident that a robust range of measures have been introduced both locally and nationally to tackle such criminal behaviour.

"Government has changed the postal voting processes since 2004 and we have to continue to work closely with Cambridgeshire Constabulary so that the people of Peterborough can be confident in the local elections."

Special Report: Local election vote riggers jailed
The full story: Three former city Labour party members found guilty of vote rigging have been jailed.
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Peterborough Muslim Organisation chairman Adbul Choudhuri said: "It's a very sad day. I didn't expect them to go to prison. They made a mistake, but if you look at the bigger picture, they had done quite a lot for the community.

"I agree that people should be punished if they do something wrong, but they have suffered long enough.

"It is almost two years since they were charged, and the last few months of the trial have all also caused them and their families great suffering.

"The shame and the humiliation they have suffered in the community should have been enough punishment. I think sending them to prison was a bit too much."

Mr Chouduri, who has known the three defendants for many years, added: "It is not as if they are hardened criminals. They have not done anything wrong in the past. We had hoped they would be given a community sentence. People in the community will be very shocked and saddened."

Prospective candidate for Central ward, Mohammed Younis, of Clarence Road, pointed out election fraud was "a very serious crime and should not be tolerated at all".

He said: "No one has the right to interfere in the democratic process that we enjoy in this country and those that do should be punished. I hope that this court case highlights to people that those who participate in election fraud will be severely punished.

"Elections should be a fair procedure where every individual is given the right to vote for whom they wish and no one should have the right to try and interfere in this.

"I believe political parties have a responsibility to ensure their candidates and members are fully aware of the rules and regulations regarding elections, so these embarrassing and shameful acts are not carried out by their candidates and members."

He called on residents to remain vigilant and alert and "uphold the democratic procedure" to ensure the forthcoming local elections are fair and honest where every resident has the right to vote for the candidate of their own choice.

Businessman Mohammed Azam, of Clarence Road, said: "They did wrong, got caught and have been punished. That is how the system in this country works so we cannot complain.