You cannot defend democracy by presuming Ali guilty

There is a bitter irony in invoking democracy while forgetting that Mohamed Abdukardir Ali is entitled to be presumed innocent. Anyone demanding respect for Sweden’s elections should show the same respect for the principle that guilt must be proved. The seriousness of a possible crime cannot tell us who committed it.

Ali, a newly elected Left Party MP from Dalarna, has denied involvement in the suspected vote-buying under investigation in Borlänge. His party has announced that he will take a timeout. On 23 September, SVT reported that prosecution documents listed three suspects whose identities were withheld. The prosecutor said none had been formally notified of suspicion. The documents do not establish whether Ali is among them.

The allegations deserve a thorough investigation. Buying votes would violate the freedom of the people casting them and cheat everyone else who voted honestly. Journalists should pursue the evidence. Vänsterpartiet should answer questions about its campaign and its candidates. Public office brings scrutiny, and Ali is no exception.

The number of headlines cannot establish guilt either. An investigation must establish what happened and who was responsible; its existence cannot do that work for us.

The presumption of innocence is protected by Article 6 of the European Convention on Human Rights. It matters most when an accusation is ugly, the public is angry and waiting for evidence feels inconvenient. Otherwise, it would offer very little protection at all.

Political judgment does not have to wait for a criminal conviction. A party can lose confidence in a representative or ask them to step aside during an inquiry. Those decisions still need reasons, and a timeout is no admission of guilt.

Ali does not have to earn this protection by being popular, by belonging to the right party or by having a name that sounds familiar. Neither does anyone else. We should be able to demand answers without pretending we already have them.

If the evidence establishes a crime, those responsible must answer for it. Until then, anyone speaking in democracy’s name owes Ali the fairness they would demand for themselves.

DailySweden

DailySweden's desk of editors, reporters, researchers and investigative journalists. We bring readers factual, truthful and objective reporting on the issues that matter to them.

Contact the editorial desk ›