City of Westminster College A Level students had the opportunity to discuss issues surrounding voting and electoral reform with a group of international election observers.
The election observers, who came from Estonia, Malaysia, South Africa and Zambia, were here to visit London constituencies and observe polling stations as part of the Electoral Commission’s International Visitors Programme. The meeting at the College was arranged through Electoral Reform International Services and enabled the overseas visitors to meet first-time voters during one of the most closely fought elections in recent history.
Most of the students are studying AS and A2 Level Politics and the hour-long session was an opportunity for them to discuss their views on voting – as well as hearing international perspectives on the democratic process and finding out how other electoral systems operate.
City of Westminster College Deputy Head of School for Humanities Kingsley Jolowicz says: "The students listened with great interest to how elections are organised in other countries and discussed the advantages and disadvantages of electoral reform with the observers. We would warmly welcome a return visit by any of the observers of the visiting nations."
Kaye Oliver, a Director of Electoral Reform International Services, who escorted the visitors says: “The observers were most impressed by the students who had agreed to meet them. They were particularly interested in their diverse views and by the fact they were prepared to express them so coherently and passionately. All thought that the students were more aware of the major political issues than a similar group might have been in their own countries.”