MP Hit by Election Fraud Probe - Party Allows Press Five Minutes

BORLÄNGE - He leapfrogged the Left Party's top candidate to win a seat in Sweden's parliament. Then came a police probe into suspected election fraud, large debts and unpaid child support. Now Mohamed Ali has finally spoken - but his party allowed the press just five minutes with him.

His explanation for the surprise result is simple.

"In a very, very good way I attracted lots of votes from Dalarna," he told local paper Borlänge Tidning.

Mohamed Abdukadir Ali, who comes from Somalia, became a Swedish citizen in February. In recent years he has been registered at a long list of different addresses.

With 648 personal votes he took the Left Party's parliamentary seat in Dalarna this autumn, knocking out the party's lead candidate Kajsa Fredholm. He had been a party member for only about a year and a half.

Fraud probe and debts

The success was quickly followed by controversy. His personal-vote campaign has been linked to an ongoing investigation into suspected election fraud in Borlänge, where three people are suspected. Police have carried out surveillance of, among others, Ali himself.

It has also emerged that he owes large sums to the Swedish Enforcement Authority, the state debt collector. He was previously refused Swedish citizenship because he did not meet the requirement of leading an honest life.

READ MORE: Three Suspects in the Election Fraud Case in Borlänge

The revelations have caused unrest inside his own party too. A former deputy district chair of the Left Party in Dalarna has publicly questioned whether he is fit to sit in parliament, pointing in particular to his tax debts.

Five minutes under supervision

After weeks of headlines, Ali gave his first interview. It took place at the Left Party's office in Stockholm, with the party's press secretary Cal Orre watching over it. Borlänge Tidning was given five minutes.

Ali dismissed several of the reports about him and insisted his campaign was clean.

"I have campaigned in a very, very good way. In a very honest way," he said, smiling at the camera.

READ MORE: The Left Party Intervenes to Shield Mohamed Ali from Tough Questions

Asked about the fraud suspicions, he pointed to the police investigation. He has said before that he is not one of the suspects and stands by that.

"The truth is what comes, and it comes from the authorities. Everything about fraud and anything illegal is being investigated," he said.

He described the media attention as stressful and claimed false information has been spread about him. As an example he mentioned reports from Kenya, where people at a mosque allegedly used his picture and claimed to know him. Ali denies any link and says he has never been to the country.

Friend with a criminal record

Questions have also been raised about his ties to party colleague Omar Ahmed Abbas, who won a seat on Borlänge's municipal council on personal votes. According to Dagens Nyheter, Abbas vouched for Ali inside the Left Party.

The two live in the same area of Borlänge and have campaigned door to door together. Ali plays down the relationship, calling Abbas a party colleague he knows from the neighbourhood.

Samnytt has previously reported that Abbas chaired a local association that received half a million kronor in grants despite serious shortcomings. He has also been convicted of four drug offences.

Ali has no plans to leave politics. He says he wants to work on healthcare and fight racism in Sweden during his time in parliament.

Then the five minutes were up. According to Borlänge Tidning, the press secretary has offered a longer conversation at a later date - once the uproar has died down.

READ MORE: Scandal-Plagued Left Party Candidate Mohamed Ali Calls In Sick, Cancels All Interviews