VOTING BLUES

I was rather amazed to see the small number of non-Spanish European Union expatriates who are registered to vote in the local elections this spring. The magical figure of 25'000 is being quoted as an acceptable number but is it still only a fraction of the number of European Union expatriates who are living in the islands.

As usual it will be the coastal resorts of Calvia, Alcudia and Pollensa, along with Deya and even Valldemossa where the non-Spanish vote will make the real difference. I get the impression that the political parties have rather lost faith in the expatriate voter. During the last elections fours years ago, the two main parties, the socialists (PSOE) and the right of centre (Partido Popular) invested plenty of time and energy in getting the foreign vote. However, they were left rather disappointed as a result of the low turnout. I think is vital that we do vote in local elections but I also understand that sometimes it is difficult to actual know which each of the parties actually stand for. However, we must reach this figure of 25'000 otherwise it will be a golden opportunity which would have been lost forever. So as councillor Kate Mentink said in our Sunday interview, register to vote now, otherwise you could miss out on voting day.