It is controversial and has provoked the british nationalists. It is new and might raise awareness for an issue that is currently not part of the public debate. The Give Your Vote project is getting to the bottom of what the London School of Economics Professor David Held is explaining in his statement on democracy and accountability: http://www.youtube.com/oembed?url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yng3R1t1Olk&format=json

"The problem we have today is at least twofold. Many decisionmakers and representatives make decisions not just for their own constituencies, but for others across borders as well. When the uk and the us politicians make decisions about national energy strategy, the price of oil, how they are going to invest and so on, they make decisions with consequences not just for their own countries, but they spill over the borders of other countries as well."

To make UK politicians accountable to people living outside the country, the organizers of the Give Your Vote project are asking british citizens to donate their votes to the citizens of Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Ghana. Donating votes to someone outside UK might sound peculiar, as most of the issues decided by the UK politicians will mainly affect the people living in the UK, but there are at least three good reasons: 1. Equipping participants in Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Ghana with votes will give them a voice in the pre-election debates, which might change the opinion of politicians on fields such as climate, security, agriculture and development policy - they will be provided with insights from people actually living in the areas affected. 2. The more votes are given in the end, the bigger will be the effect on the global public sphere. If enough people decide to give their votes, then this will be a very clear signal to those in power - the old principle of imperial sovereignty of the nation states needs to be replaced with democratic subsidiarity.

Nobel laureate and veteran of the anti-apartheid struggle, Desmond Tutu, who is one of the prominent supporters of the Give Your Vote project demands: "We need to rethink our politics for today's world. We must strive for a global democracy, in which not only the rich and the powerful have a say, but which treats everyone, everywhere with dignity and respect."

3. Open dialog between cultures always brings about greater understanding. People in the western world are not aware of the peaceful afghan society: not of the problems of the poor, nor of the civil society activists groups and for sure not of TV showns looking for the next Afghanstar. And the same is true for Bangladesh and Ghana: we as european very often close our eyes, when it comes to people beeing displaced because of rising see levels or farmers losing their job because of unjust trade policies. This project has the potential to open our eyes. People on the streets of London talking about Give Your Vote: http://www.youtube.com/oembed?url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ivIbZRmuMlQ&format=json _________________________________________________ _________________________________________________ Dates: - Launch Day in Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Ghana will be on 30th March - World UK Vote day will be held on the 30th April - UK elections are expected for the 6th May Detailed information on how it works: http://giveyourvote.org Give Your Vote on facebook: http://facebook.com/giveyourvote Give Your Vote on twitter: http://twitter.com/giveyourvote A review in the NY Times: Activists urge Britons _________________________________________________ _________________________________________________ (Photo: Loungerie/Flickr)