Council boss Neil Davies has issued an apology over a mistake made in a controversial count in a Rainham ward during the local elections.

The error was uncovered after trade unionists launched their own investigation when their representative did not poll a single vote.

As members of Trade Union and Socialist Coalition looked into the unlikely result, they discovered that one person had broken electoral rules by officially nominating three candidates in the ward which only returns two.

TUSC has refused to believe Paul Dennis’s result and has gathered evidence that at least 30 people, including himself, his wife and father, voted for him in Rainham North.

The latest blunder came when pensioner Maureen McCarthy, 71, was allowed to nominate three candidates, two from Ukip and a Conservative, instead of the two allowed.

“This clearly should not have happened, and we are very sorry it did. Whilst this is clearly a matter of concern, the outcome of the election in the ward is not in doubt." - Mr Davies

She told the Medway Messenger: “I didn’t mean to nominate the Conservative. I’m afraid it was a simple mistake.”

Speaking about the error on the nomination paper, returning officer, Neil Davies, who is also the council’s chief executive, said: “This clearly should not have happened, and we are very sorry it did. We have advised the Electoral Commission of the situation.”

Mr Davies added: “Whilst this is clearly a matter of concern, the outcome of the election in the ward is not in doubt. We are conducting an in-depth review of our systems and procedures to ensure that this will not occur again.”

Chas Berry, TUSC spokesman, said: “We are pleased he acknowledges a mistake and that there will be a review but this doesn’t go far enough.

“It is simply not true that the outcome would not have been affected. Many who voted for the disqualified candidate would have voted for someone else, not necessarily a conservative.

“What about Paul’s missing votes? He should pledge to re-examine the ballot papers. Any review also needs to be public.”

TUSC was forced to pull out of an attempt to challenge the unlikely zero vote because of the huge financial cost of raising a legal implication in the High Court.

The party said that it also lacked the expertise to take on the legal complexities of taking on Medway Council.

“What about Paul’s missing votes? He should pledge to re-examine the ballot papers. Any review also needs to be public.” - Chas Berry

In a statement to the council, last Wednesday, party spokesman Chas Berry said there were a number of errors in the administration of the ballot.

Mr Berry said: “Democratic accountability in the Medway Towns has been called into question and this should be an issue of serious concern to Neil Davies, chief executive. Unless he is willing to acknowledge his mistakes and take action to rectify them, confidence in the veracity of the electoral process will be undermined.”

Among other factors questioned are the late arrival of postal vote forms, the use of a single ballot box for both the general and local elections and exhausted staff who struggled to concentrate having done two counts in less than 24 hours.

The party has called on the winning Tory councillors, David Carr and Martin Potter to do “the decent thing” and stand down to allow a rerun.

Mr Davies, the returning officer for both counts, said the council had carried out an investigation and the matter concerning the zero vote was now closed.