To Brexit or not to Brexit?

Let me start by saying that the answer to the Brexit question lies entirely with the British people.

Ultimately, the UK, just like any other country, has the right to self-determination and to decide about their future through a democratic process that has been made available to them.

The referendum will take place on June 23, when British nationals will decide whether the UK will remain a member of the European Union (EU) or leave the bloc after 43 years of membership.

Having spent the majority of my adult life in England, I perceived that a vast majority of the people I have known were not interested in participating in either local, regional or national elections. Voting, in countries where this platform is accessible, is particularly important for playing an active part in the national process, especially when it comes to representation at the highest level. Every vote counts and the power of one single vote should never be underestimated.

Let’s take Saudi Arabia as an example; the female members of this society will confirm how significant voting is for them. For the first time, in 2015, they were allowed to vote and about 130,000 women registered to make their voices heard. Surely, they will not take balloting for granted as many of us do in Europe.

According to Philip Parham, the British Ambassador to the UAE, there are as many as 120,000 British nationals living in the seven Emirates, which equals to 1.25 per cent of the total population of the country. Many expatriates might think it’s trivial whether the UK stays in the EU or not, but it really isn’t. The referendum will have an impact on every British national, in the UK and abroad. If not in the short run, at least in the long-term.

Most expatriates will probably not live in the UAE forever, and when the time comes to return to the UK, I presume they would want to return to a country they have helped shape, even whilst living abroad.

High Court judges in London have recently ruled that anyone living outside the UK and on the Electoral Register in the last 15 years, can vote.

Overseas voters can apply to register to vote by May 16 and once registered, must apply to vote by post or proxy in order to be able to vote from abroad.

If there is one thing we can all learn from our Emirati hosts, it is that there is nothing wrong with being patriotic. Their love for their country and their great participation in issues that directly affect them is something that is most definitely understated.

— The reader is a German editorial director based in Abu Dhabi