TODAY WE have the opportunity to vote for or against the Lisbon Treaty, a decision with momentous consequences for Ireland and the European Union. Our democracy is designed to protect individual rights and freedoms and enable citizens render government accountable and responsive. It cannot do these things properly unless individual citizens actually inform themselves and participate. Citizens must exercise their right to vote if they are serious about our democracy and accept the responsibilities it involves. Such freedoms wither as much by neglect as hostile assault.
Ireland is unique in having a referendum on the Lisbon Treaty - and unusual in not having a minimum threshold proportion of the electorate which must vote for it to be passed (often set at 50 per cent). This means a minority of the electorate can easily carry a vote on a low turnout. Such was the case in the June 2001 Nice referendum, when the No side won on a turnout of just more than one third of the whole body of voters. The second referendum on Nice in 2002 was won by the Yes side when just less than half the electorate participated. Other referendums have shown similar low turnouts compared to general elections, in which voter participation has also been diminishing.
This latter trend was reversed in last year's election, and it is very much to be hoped turnout in today's referendum will also increase. Many factors affect individual decisions on whether to vote. They range from sickness, infirmity, work and study pressures, accessibility and flexibility of voting centres, through levels of engagement, party commitment, knowledge and ignorance about the issues concerned, to sheer lack of interest or a conviction that it will make no difference. A great deal depends on how well public attention is mobilised by adequate knowledge, thorough debate, media coverage, and organisational and financial resources.
On most of these counts the Lisbon Treaty referendum campaign, while slow to start, eventually peaked into a probing and passionate encounter in its closing stages. The fact, if not the date, of the referendum was flagged well ahead of time - an advantage the No side, consisting largely of voluntary coalitions from many different political directions, took better into account. It took a long time for the main political parties on the Yes side to catch up, for the Referendum Commission to distribute information on such a complex document, and for public attention to be captured by the debate. By the end most issues have been adequately aired and cleared in what became a genuine, if raw-edged, democratic exercise.
The campaign has provided a satisfactory platform for citizens to make up their minds and vote today. We should do so mindful of the privilege and responsibility we exercise for Ireland and the European Union. As the only member state having a referendum, Ireland's voters can determine the EU's future direction and help define its strategy. By voting we will affirm our own constitutional commitment to make such changes only by directly consulting the people. Vote if you possibly can.