London, May 7 (DPA) Hundreds of people were unable to vote in Britain’s general election because of long queues at polling stations and, in one instance, a shortage of ballot papers, it emerged Friday.
The Electoral Commission watchdog said it had ordered a “thorough review” into incidents around the country in which people were unable to cast their votes by the time polls closed at 10 p.m. (2100 GMT Thursday).
The commission said the incidents were cause for “serious concern.”
In the northern English city of Sheffield, police were called to move people on when voters staged sit-in protests after waiting hours to vote.
It was reported that some polling stations ran out of ballot papers because of Thursday’s unexpectedly high turnout.
Commentators said the incidents could lead to legal challenges by candidates.
