AN ELECTION law specialist is to decide if any charges are brought against a councillor accused of vote-rigging.

But police today said they could not say how long it would take for a decision to be made.

Coun Mohammed Hussain, who represents the Bastwell ward on Blackburn with Darwen Council, was the seventh person to be arrested and quizzed by detectives investigating allegations of electoral fraud in early June.

Police have been liaising with the Crown Prosecution Service and have passed the case file to them for their verdict.

Det Insp Neil Hunter, who is leading the investigation, said: "The file has been referred to an election law specialist to consider the evidence in relation to whether further action will be taken against the people who were detained.

"We cannot put a time on how long this will take."

Postal voting has been available to everyone in Blackburn with Darwen since 2001 and the Bastwell ward election in May 2002 had a 55 per cent turnout - the highest in the borough.

Coun Hussain won the seat for Labour with a 685-vote majority, two years after losing it to the Conservatives.

Police then launched an investigation following a complaint from the Conservatives that Labour activists had collected unopened postal votes from houses in the area.

The probe centred on alleged irregularities in hundreds of postal ballot papers.

Coun Hussain was interviewed by detectives and released on police bail, pending further inquiries.

The following week it was revealed that he had suspended himself from the Labour party.

Council leader Sir Bill Taylor said this action did not imply any wrongdoing and would be in place until the outcome of the inquiry was known.