Nearly 2,000 people living in Bradford Council’s Manningham ward are being told to discard their local election ballot papers due to an printing error.

Replacements are being sent out on Thursday and any postal votes already cast will have to be discarded and re-cast. It follows the withdrawal of one of the candidates the day after the close of nominations.

Arshad Ali had put himself forward to stand in the ward for the Respect Party but removed himself from the ballot within the allotted time-frame.

Bradford Council then passed on the adjusted list of nominees to the printer, but the original five-man shortlist was mistakenly printed on the postal ballot papers.

Tony Reeves, the Council’s chief executive and acting returning officer, said last night: “We urge residents to re-cast their postal votes on the replacement local election postal voting statements being sent out tomorrow.

“Any postal votes for the local election which have already been cast will not be counted, so it is vital that residents in the Manningham ward complete the replacement forms for their votes to be counted.”

Letters have been sent to the 1,827 residents who applied for a postal vote in Manningham explaining the situation and apologising for the inconvenience caused. The correct papers will be marked Replacement Pack and any local elections ballot papers already received by residents in the Manningham ward are now null and void. The replacement packs will contain the names of four candidates – not five.

The Manningham General Election ballot papers are correct and not affected by the printing error, so these votes will be counted as normal and no further papers need to be sent out.

Anyone with any questions should contact Bradford Council’s electoral services on (01274) 431360.

Also standing in the ward are: Mohammed Aurangzeb (Lib Dem), Shabir Hussian (Lab), Mohammed Khan (Con), and John Robinson (Green).