Editor:
With just days to go to the election, our minds should be made up.
The vast majority of us apparently want the Conservative Party out of power. There is not a poll that suggests otherwise. That does not mean it is going to happen. We still have a “first past the post” electoral system where any of the four parties can, through vote splitting, win with only 26 per cent of the popular vote. It has happened in this country more than a few times.
The only way to prevent this to happen is “strategic voting.” The term has been thrown around enough that we can assume that most know what it means.
You vote for the party that is most likely to defeat the incumbent. The polls have consistently pointed that in our riding it is going to be the Liberal Party. Even if you are not a Liberal supporter, even if you disagree with the Liberal platform, if you want a change in government, then you will most likely achieve this by voting Liberal.
I have talked to the candidates of the NDP, the Liberal Party and the Green Party and all three are very good and strong people to represent us. But only one can win this riding and it is clear that the best chance is for the Liberal candidate: Pamela Goldsmith-Jones.
A vote for the NDP or the Green Party will just increase the chance for the Conservative candidate to win and then the chance for electoral reform going to happen in this country diminishes.
It is therefore that I offer my sincere apologies to Ken Melamed and Larry Koopman for writing this – for the best of this country and democracy.
Goze Vlasblom, Sechelt
