A former councillor sacked following the famous ‘banana republic’ vote fraud scandal is making a bid to return to Birmingham’s council chamber.

Shafaq Ahmed was one of six Labour councillors who were removed from office by the Election Court which found vote rigging on an industrial scale in Aston and Bordesley Green during the 2004 local election.

The disgraced politician was also banned from standing in elections for five years .

But now, going by the name Shaaky Ahmed, he is standing as an independent candidate in next week’s local election.

The 2004 postal vote fraud was the biggest scandal in Birmingham political history and led to the city being compared by Judge Richard Mawrey to a ‘banana republic

In that case, he found there had been a Birmingham-wide campaign by parts of the local Labour Party to use bogus postal votes to counter the adverse impact of the Iraq war on the party’s support.

Shafaq Ahmed in 2004

Postmen were intimidated into handing over sacks full of postal votes, ballot papers were changed once votes had been cast, using correction fluid, and police discovered six men in a warehouse with 274 unsealed postal votes.

Mr Ahmed was one of three Bordesley Green councillors sacked. All three were later declared bankrupt over the costs of the legal battle.

His family has remained involved in politics, including his daughter Uzma Ahmed who was elected Labour councillor for Bordesley Green in 2012 and again in 2016. However she was unable to secure a Labour candidacy this year.

Mr Ahmed is battling Labour candidate Safia Noor who hit the headlines late last yea r when it emerged that she had, in a post on facebook, denied ISIS exists. She has since apologised for the comment.

On March 27 last year, in the wake of the Westminster terror attack, she posted to her followers: “So someone got stabbed after the attack last week as a result of media and government claiming that SO CALLED ISIS HAD CLAIMED RESPONSIBILITY.

“There is no ISIS and there is no proof.”

After being challenged over those, an other comments, she said: “I accept I should have chosen my words more carefully. I didn’t intend to cause any offence and I apologise to anyone who found those comments offensive or upsetting. I completely condemn all terrorist acts.”

Conservative councillor and Edgbaston candidate Matt Bennett said: “It is outrageous that the voters of Small Heath have to choose between a convicted postal vote fraudster and someone who denies IS exists.

“Someone who has subverted the democratic process like this should be declared unfit for public life for life.”