Pull out all the stops to let troops vote, says local Lib Dem

4.07.14pm GMT Thu 14th Jan 2010

Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg MP visiting troops in Afghanistan

A guarantee that all serving military personnel will be able to vote in this year's General Election is being demanded by the Liberal Democrat prospective parliamentary candidate for Plymouth Moor View, Stuart Bonar.

Their ability to vote is hampered by low levels of registration and by the problem of getting ballot papers out to troops overseas and back again during the election campaign.

"The Government sends these brave men and women overseas to fight to defend our way of life. They put their lives on the line. The very least that same Government can do is pull out all the stops to make sure the troops have their say and can cast their vote", Mr Bonar said.

As many as a third of service personnel are not registered to vote, according to Ministry of Defence research. For those who are registered, election law means that there are only 11 working days between candidates being confirmed and polling day. To vote by post, a ballot paper has to be sent out and sent back again in that time. For soldiers on the frontline in Afghanistan, that is a big challenge.

Lib Dem Stuart Bonar is calling on the Government to guarantee that extra resources will be in place to get ballot papers out to Afghanistan and back again within the tight timeframe. "If that means extra flights by transport aircraft then so be it," he said.

He continued, "There are almost 10,000 British servicemen and women out in Afghanistan. They didn't ask to go there. They were ordered there by the Government. It strikes me therefore that that same Government should guarantee that it will do what it takes to make sure their right to vote is honoured. After all, isn't it protecting our democracy and freedom that they are supposed to be fighting for?"

He continued, "In future, I would like to see all service personnel automatically registered to vote when they sign up. That way, we won't have a third of our service personnel not even on the voting register. That is an unacceptably low figure. The voice of these men and women must be heard loud and clear by politicians."