In April and May this year, at least a dozen countries held or will hold elections to choose their political representatives, including Australia, Canada, Portugal, Trinidad and Tobago, and Singapore.
I was supposed to cast my ballot at my local community centre in Singapore on May 3, but I was travelling overseas and it was next to impossible to change my travel plans.
Voting is compulsory in Singapore and failing to do so meant that my name was struck off the electoral rolls. But overseas travel is a valid reason for not voting, and I can easily re-register online as a voter without paying a fee.
I take voting seriously because it is my right, and my duty, as a citizen.
When I was living in Hong Kong, I always voted at Singapore’s consulate-general in Admiralty during elections. While I was aware that the small number of registered overseas voters like myself scarcely made a dent on final outcomes, I always found it deeply moving when I marked the “X” and dropped the folded ballot into the box.
China’s first modern elections took place during the last years of the Qing dynasty (1644-1912) as part of Empress Dowager Cixi’s New Policies, her too-late attempt at reforming and salvaging the failing Qing empire.