The UK Electoral Commission has launched a day of dedicated activity to encourage British citizens living overseas to register to vote ahead of the referendum on the UK’s membership of the European Union.
According to a statement from the British Embassy in Doha, to reach out to the UK citizens living overseas, the election watchdog is hosting Overseas Voter Registration Day today in a bid to boost the numbers of UK residents overseas on the UK’s electoral registers.
With the date of the referendum as yet unknown, the commission is advising the UK expatriates to register early so that they can be sure they are registered in time. British expatriates can now register online to vote in just a few minutes at http://www.gov.uk/register-to-vote, www.gov.uk/register-to-vote.
The British ambassador to Qatar, Ajay Sharma, said: “The EU referendum will be an important vote for all British citizens whether one is living abroad or at home. It will affect the UK’s relationship with Europe which impacts on so many aspects of our lives.  It is so important that everyone’s voice is heard.”
While the Overseas Voter Registration Day is not the only day one can register, it is the perfect opportunity for everyone to encourage his friends, family or colleagues to check if they can take part and ask them to go online to register from wherever they are in the world.
To register as an overseas voter, UK residents overseas must have previously been registered in a UK constituency within the last 15 years. Once registered, overseas voters can then choose how they wish to vote. They can vote by post, by proxy (voting by appointing someone you trust to vote on your behalf), or even in person at a polling station if they have travelled to the UK on polling day.
It should be easier to vote by post for this referendum as the timetable for postal votes has been extended to allow postal votes to be sent out even earlier than usual, giving overseas voters further time to receive, complete, and return their ballot pack to the UK, the statement added.