NI Assembly & Council Elections

steveymp

lazer wrote: »

However the sectarian voting is only part of the problem, in my view the main problem is the "non-voters"
If you donlt vote because you don't agree with our tribal voting, that is worse than the tribal voting. Get out there and vote AP/Green/independent etc or if you don't like those spoil your vote.
Sitting at home moaning isn't going to help anyone

I only moan that they are useless:o I have voted for the past 22 years and it hasn't made the slightest difference, so I am perfectly entitled to use my democratic right Not to vote;)

What is the difference between Not voting and spoiling your paper, apart from the couple of pounds petrol you have to use to get to the polling station ?

Maybe I'm just getting old(er) and grumpy(er) too :rotfl:

lazer

steveymp wrote: »

What is the difference between Not voting and spoiling your paper, apart from the couple of pounds petrol you have to use to get to the polling station ?
Maybe I'm just getting old(er) and grumpy(er) too :rotfl:

The difference is that my spoiling your vote, you show that you are interested in how the county is run, but you don't feel that the any of the candidates are right.
By not voting - this could simply be because you don't care, this is the general assumption that if you don't turn up to vote you have no interest in the running of the country.

And as for the petrol costs - most candidates will arrange for you to be taken to the polling station of you ask them, although they will think you are voting for them

warmhands.coldheart

lazer wrote: »

........And as for the petrol costs - most candidates will arrange for you to be taken to the polling station of you ask them, although they will think you are voting for them

Yeah but you'll end up paying for it anyway as if said candidate did get in, they'll probably claim the fuel back under expenses!!:rotfl:

BigAl94

lazer wrote: »

We don't have real polilitics in NI - we have a mickey mouse assembly and voters who care more about sectarian issues than actual politics.

I know people that vote for SF because they are nationlist - however when i checked SF policies and asked them what they thought on the issues - they disagreed with almost all of them. This is the case with probably the majority of voters in NI - they vote purely on the basis of nationlist/unionist. A nationlist gets to choose between Sf and SDLP, whereas as unionist gets to choose between the DUP and the UUP.

However the sectarian voting is only part of the problem, in my view the main problem is the "non-voters"
If you donlt vote because you don't agree with our tribal voting, that is worse than the tribal voting. Get out there and vote AP/Green/independent etc or if you don't like those spoil your vote.
Sitting at home moaning isn't going to help anyone

Aristotle said "Every country gets the government it deserves" So true!!

Pretani

BigAl94 wrote: »

Aristotle said "Every country gets the government it deserves" So true!!

Wow....quite deep man

screwedagain

I think the turn out for this election was at best a joke and at worst an absolute embarrasment to "our wee country".

People complain about the state of local politics from their armchair but when their opportunity comes to step up to the plate and do something about it they'd rather stay in and watch eastenders or something. As an earlier poster pointed out, if you feel mis-represented by the entire list of candidates then go and spoil your vote. That at least shows that you have an interest in how the country is run, and at the same time effectively gives a vote of no confidence to all the candidates.

Finally, I don't want to preach on about it too much, but people across the middle east are being killed by their governments over their desired right to a democratically run country. If we can't even acknowledge the privelege that we have to live in a stable democracy then what hope is there? What is the alternative?

Pretani

them darn posters aren't down yet..........their as bad as the union Jacks through summer

irishjohn

Pretani wrote: »

them darn posters aren't down yet..........their as bad as the union Jacks through summer

By law the posters have to be removed within 14 days following the election so 7 days left before they can be taken to task

steveymp

irishjohn wrote: »

By law the posters have to be removed within 14 days following the election so 7 days left before they can be taken to task

Can you see it happening most posters will erode over our glorious summer, but we will always have the cable ties on the lamp posts as a longer reminder.

As for not using my vote, it is my choice, just as people have the democratic right to vote, I have the right NOT to use my vote, and judging by the turnout a lot of people expressed their right not too:T Democracy works both ways.

NAR

warmhands.coldheart wrote: »

On a slightly seperate but relavant point. Has anyone seen the young guy (barely out of Nappies from what I saw) who's been elected onto Belfast City council for the DUP. I think he's 19 and in second year at Uni!! For God Sake..... what have things come to.... can someone of that age really have enough life experience to be of any use to anyone?

Maybe I'm just getting old(er) and grumpy(er)

I would agree more if you were referring to the Assembly. However surely young people should be represented on the Councils. How else are their needs/requests going to be facilitated if they don't have young voices championing them?