Londoner puts vote on e Bay

A Londoner has attempted to sell his or her vote for tomorrow's elections on eBay, it has emerged.

The Electoral Commission confirmed that an advert had been placed on the auction website by a person apparently offering to vote according to the highest bidder's instructions.

The offer, which has now been removed from the website, was condemned by the commission and the Department for Constitutional Affairs (DCA).

The offer related to votes for the Mayor of London, the London Assembly and the European elections.

"We were alerted to the fact that it was there, so we had a look and it was on the website," said a spokeswoman.

"The person had effectively put their ballot paper on the website and was offering to sell their vote to the highest bidder."

The starting bid was 99p and there had been no bids at the time of checking, the spokeswoman added.

The commission believes it would be unlawful to buy or sell a vote in this way under section 113 of the Representation of the People's Act.

A DCA spokesman said: "I think putting your vote up for sale is against the spirit of democracy and we condemn it."