Get your organisation involved in the 2019 General Election
General Election 2019 – Make Muslim Voices Heard!
The UK is holding a General Election on 12th December 2019. The MCB is encouraging all Muslims to ensure they are registered to vote – but we need your help!
The MCB is working to mobilise Muslim communities to make sure they have registered to vote for the upcoming General Election. We would like to invite you to take part!
In this election, it’s crucial that the experiences of Muslim communities are part of the national debate. More than 9 million people eligible to vote in the UK are at risk of not being able to do so.
By registering as many people to vote, we can ensure there is a clear, public demonstration of the voice of Muslim communities. We can then use the election to amplify the demands of Muslims, and encourage political parties to create policies that reflect our interests. It is crucial that as many community organisations and migrant groups spread the word about the general election, and support our communities to engage, register and vote in order to do this.
It is important that mosques and registered charities refrain from endorsing any candidate or party. Instead, they should encourage their members to register to vote and participate fully in the political process.
Tuesday 26th November is the final day on which people can register to vote, which means that we have just under 4 weeks in which to get things up and running!
Getting involved is easy – run a voter registration drive
The MCB recommends mosques and community centres organising register to vote drives after Jumu’ah prayers. This is simple: all you need is one or two volunteers, depending on the size of the congregation, with a working computer or iPad and an internet connection.
Volunteers can ask people leaving Jumu’ah whether they are registered to vote, and if not, they can register them on the spot online here: https://www.gov.uk/register-to-vote. This takes 5 minutes to complete, and requires either a National Insurance number or a form of identification.
You can learn more about who is eligible to vote here.
If you are holding a register to vote drive, please let us know. Please record the number of people you’re able to register, and share any pictures of the event with us.
Host a hustings event
Mosques can hold a hustings: an open meeting with all prospective parliamentary candidates in the constituency. This is for voters to meet them and for candidates to answer a series of questions which give people the chance to hear their views on a range of issues that will affect them.
This enables mosques to help voters in their community engage effectively with their political representatives.
How the MCB can help you
The MCB will be producing packs for mosques to advise on holding register to vote drives, how to arrange hustings and how to participate in the election while abiding by Charity Commission rules.
We have also produced a Jumu’ah Khutbah about voting and engaging in politics. This can be found here.
All of our resources relating to the General Election will be available on our website. Visit: www.mcb.org.uk/muslimsvote.
If you would like any support during the General Election, please contact: [email protected].
Please consider donating to the MCB to help us carry out essential work to better support our communities. You can do this on our website by visiting: www.mcb.org.uk/friends
The Muslim Council of Britain is the UK's largest Muslim umbrella body with over
500 affiliated national, regional and local organisations, mosques,
charities and schools.
For further information please contact:
The Muslim Council of Britain
PO Box 57330
London
E1 2WJ
Tel: 0845 26 26 786
Fax: 0207 247 7079 [email protected]
