Our View: Make a choice, it's your right

As part of the build-up to this year's local body elections, we are encouraging everyone who is eligible to vote.
There are plenty of good reasons why everyone should vote and we will be highlighting these during the coming week.
One of the best reasons is because it is your right, as a citizen living in a democratic country. Many millions of people around the world don't have that right and, in many countries, votes and elections are routinely tampered with. We are among the fortunate. We get to have our say in how our towns, cities and country are run and, because of that, it is our duty to exercise that right.
Last time we emphasised this, at least one person responded by pointing out that as we do live in a democracy, it is also our right to not vote, if we so choose, particularly if we don't like the choice of candidates. Technically, that is true but it's also a cop-out. Make a choice.
The people who stand for local body elections are to be admired for making the commitment, putting themselves forward to do a difficult job and one which often requires them to put their own lives and livelihoods second in order to do what's best for their city or district. They are not there for the money or the kudos but because they feel they can and should contribute to their communities.
Everybody has an opinion about how they think their part of the world should be run and voting allows us to have a say about that by electing people who will represent us and our needs and wishes.
People who don't vote often say that their vote doesn't count anyway but every vote does count, especially at local level where elections can and often do come down to the wire, sometimes requiring a countback.
We have a right which people before us have fought to gain and those of us who are eligible should exercise that right.