Release date: 12/03/2010
By: Charlie Masson Smith
Telephone
020 8871 6173
or email cmassons@wandsworth.gov.uk
Make sure your vote counts
With elections looming now is the time to make sure your name is on the electoral register.
And this message is especially important for people born in Rwanda, who are now eligible to vote in all British elections. Citizens of that country are now entitled to vote in the UK after it officially joined the Commonwealth yesterday (March 10).
People born in this country, along with citizens of qualifying Commonwealth countries, plus those from the European Union and British Overseas territories are all eligible to vote in the local council elections that will be held on Thursday, May 6.
To cast your ballot in the local council elections, you must ensure you are registered to vote by midnight on Tuesday, April 20. There is also a 5pm deadline that day for people wanting to request a postal vote.
Most people's names will already be on the register following last autumn's annual canvass, but if you are a Rwandan citizen, did not fill in the forms you were sent at that time, have moved into the borough recently or switched addresses from another Wandsworth property since the autumn, you may not be on the list.
To join the register, double check that you are already included or to apply for a postal vote residents should call (020) 8871 6023 or email electoral@wandsworth.gov.uk
Speculation is also mounting that the Prime Minister will call a general election on May 6. By law he must call an election by June 3, but May 6 is rapidly emerging as the front-runner.
British Citizens, those from Commonwealth countries, Malta, Cyprus and the Republic of Ireland are all eligible to vote in a UK general election. Citizens of other European Union countries are not entitled to vote in a general election.
The same April 20 deadlines apply for people wanting to join the register or request a postal vote for the general election.
Poll cards for the May 6 council elections will be delivered to all eligible voters by Tuesday, April 6. Additional cards will be delivered two weeks later if there is also a general election held that day.
For more information about registering and details of who is eligible to vote visit www.wandsworth.gov.uk/vote
ENDS
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