North East Herts MP Oliver Heald is pressing the Ministry of Justice to try to ensure that our Forces in Afghanistan are able to participate in the General Election. At one time, servicemen had their own system of registration which ensured that they were automatically registered to vote. Under the system brought in by the current Government, it is necessary for personnel to register individually. Minister of State Rt Hon Michael Wills MP has written to Oliver, saying that he has asked officials to ensure that processes are expedited and that he has put in place a scheme for registration, and application for postal and proxy votes, in Afghanistan and bases in the UK where personnel are about to deploy.
Commenting, Oliver Heald said, “It is important that our Armed Forces are able to vote and I am glad that the Minister is giving this attention. This is an issue that I have raised over some years because I do think it is vitally important that those who risk their lives for us are not denied democracy.”