The government does not know whether the 427,000 signatures calling for the controversial 2016 referendum on the Ukraine-EU trade treaty are genuine, reports broadcaster RTL.

Ronald Plasterk, home affairs minister, admits in a freedom of information response to lawyer Christiaan Alberdingk Thijm, that the signatures were not checked for authenticity. The government only verified that the name, address and dates of birth matched those registered to voters, but not whether these people definitely submitted them.

He admitted that there were ‘risks of fraud’ with this method, although his letter does not suggest that there is evidence of actual fraud. Many signatures were collected via an app developed by campaign body GeenPeil – a Eurosceptic group affiliated to a satirical website GeenStijl, which is fielding candidates for the general election on March 15.

Wim Voermans, a professor of state and administrative law, told RTL that the checking processes were far too weak and that the process was ‘extremely vulnerable’. He added: ‘If you wanted to do it, manipulation is possible.’

Rules

GeenPeil chairman and initiative leader Bart Nijman said they had always adhered to the rules. ‘We collected the signatures in a fair way, and always with the consent of the ministry and electoral council. In no way has anyone shown that fraud has been committed. It is Plasterk’s own fault that there is this gap.’

Last week, Plasterk announced that software would no longer be used to count general election results in March after an RTL investigation suggested it was ‘leaky as a sieve’ and vulnerable to manipulation by foreign intelligence.

The Ukraine referendum was the first test of a 2015 law allowing people to demand an advisory referendum with at least 300,000 signatures, collected in six weeks.

In the referendum, 61% of voters rejected the treaty, and almost a third of eligible voters took part.

Subsidies

Last November it emerged that the Eurosceptic think tank IDDE, which is affiliated to British party Ukip, had been ordered to pay back subsidies wrongly claimed to fight local political issues.

Those payments included €14,500 which went to the GeenPeil organisation to pay for an advert in the Telegraaf calling on people to sign the pro-referendum petition. The advert was published just four days before the petition deadline.

However, the signatures in question can no longer be checked as they have been destroyed.