Sometimes numbers can startle, other times they can confuse. Numbers can be interpreted in so many ways, twisted to push one point of view, squashed to promote another. How many times have you read a statistic that if you stopped to think about it, you'd realise it's actually meaningless? It happens all the time. So as I talk about numbers today, I'm going to do my best to be clear.
The number one is a good place to start. One. Just like all EU citizens on the island, that's my entitlement in May 2011 when I can go and vote in Menorca's local elections. I can't vote for anyone to enter the Consell Insular, nor the Balearic Government for that matter, but that doesn't mean my one vote is less valuable – one tiny vote is all that's required to turn a town hall's government around.
I went to a meeting a few weeks ago in Mallorca, hosted by Europeos por España – Europeans for Spain. One of this association's objectives is to encourage foreign residents to register to vote, an objective that ABC Menorca also shares. At the meeting I heard that a staggering 120,000 Europeans live on the Balearic Islands, but in January 2010, the number of them who had registered to vote stood at a little under 20,000. That's less than 16% of the people eligible to vote.
Perhaps you are one of those people eligible to vote, but you haven't yet registered at the town hall. Perhaps you think that your one vote will make little difference, or perhaps you don't plan to vote because you don't know enough about the political parties on the island. But you're wrong. One vote does matter, and on an island the size of Menorca, one vote is of great importance. And not knowing is no excuse either – you can come and meet the candidates through ABC Menorca.
To encourage Europeans living in Menorca to register to vote, and to exercise their right to vote in May 2011, ABC Menorca is organising a series of gatherings with representatives from the entire political spectrum. We've already met with the PP, we did so last week. We talked about tourism, about Menorca's economy, and we got answers to our questions. Other parties have responded to our invitation too, we're scheduling events with the PSOE, PSM-Entesa, UPyD and Unió Menorquina over the next few months.
In the last local elections, in 2007, the difference between the winners and the losers was just a handful of votes in some cases – I can think of two towns where less than 20 votes were enough to distance a political party from gaining more than 50%. Make sure you are registered and that your opinion is heard as each and every vote really does count.
For more information on ABC Menorca contact Wendy Mitchell (607 916 005) or Nicki Millan (619 574 679).
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