I Cast My Vote In England!

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Yes. Last evening, I cast my vote in England. Not to elect the President of the Kannada Sangha, not to elect the secretary of the Indian Association, but to elect the councillor for the borough we live in! I, a citizen of India, resident of England for less than a year, I voted. I am told that even during the country's general elections, my vote is invaluable. Am I the only one who finds this wierd, or are you with me?

When my husband first told me that we were eligible to vote and he would register us as voters, I cound not believe it. He explained that since we were citizens of a commonwealth country, and were residents of UK, we were eligible. I later discovered that I could even stand for election to the House of Commons!

In a way, voting in the council elections seems right. After all we pay our council taxes. If I pay for something, I should have a say in how it is delivered. But my mind just refuses to extend it to the national arena. Would I like a foreigner to vote in India to decide who will head the governement at the center? I think not!

I initially said I would not vote. I felt I should not vote. You see, I have voted only a couple of times in India, when I was in Mysore and Bangalore. After the introduction of the photo ID, and our move to Delhi and the resulting confusion in voters lists, I never voted. Now that we live outside India, and there is no overseas ballot, there is no question of voting. I felt that if I don't cast my ballot in my own country, why here? Faulty logic, hence I said 'felt' and not 'think'.

Is it a right or a duty to vote? For me it is both, in India. But here? I don't know! I finally decided I should treat it the same way here, atleast in the council elections. Plus I was curious to see a voting booth, and the voting process here. We could vote any time between 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. Very long hours compared to India! So off we went at 8.30 in the evening. There were no banners near the booth, no flags, no party members with leaflets and stupid grins urging us to vote for their party. All very quiet. I felt like an intruder. The election commission had sent us cards with our registration numbers on it, but I assumed we would need some identification, so we carried our passports along. But no one asked to see any proof of identity. We mentioned our names and address, and the election officer found them on a list, she struck them off and gave us the ballot slips, we voted, and the lady thanked us and we were out.

What should I do during the national elections? When I wouldn't want a foreigner to vote in my country, how can I vote here? The parliament can take major decisions that could change the lives of people in the entire nation. How does this country allow outsiders to be part of the process of electing their MPs?? During the last US elections, when an American friend in Singapore was getting ready to cast her (overseas) vote, I had told her that since the US pokes its nose in every country's business, the outcome of the US elections will affect all of us, so all of us should have the right to vote. She agreed (that I was right). But I can't say the same about UK, atleast not now. And I wonder how the citizens of UK feel about it. How is it that they are not jumping up and down and protesting, especially with the paranioa concerning outsiders that appears to be increasing after the terrorist attacks? Or are the numbers too small to worry about? But I thought every single vote is supposed to matter. Well, I for one, just don't understand it.