EU referendum vote registration deadline extended
The deadline for UK citizens registering to vote in the European Union (EU) referendum has been extended, the British government has said.
British Conservative Party politician and Minister for the Cabinet Office Matt Hancock said the government would legislate to extend the cut-off date until midnight on Thursday, June 9.
The extension follows a computer glitch which left some people unable to sign up before the original deadline on Tuesday midnight.
The UK Electoral Commission urged people to register until the end of Thursday in order to be eligible to vote in the EU referendum on June 23.
A last-minute surge in demand was blamed for the technical problems. Users reported a page displaying the message "504 Gateway Time-out" instead of the online registration form.
There had been calls from both sides of the EU debate for the deadline to be extended, although the move was criticised by some Conservative Members of Parliament (MPs).
Conservative MP Gerald Howarth said people had "months and months" to sign up to vote and it was "their fault" if they had waited until the last minute.
However, opposition parties had expressed anger at the computer glitch and called for an extension to the registration deadline. Pro-Remain campaigner and Liberal Democrat leader Tim Farron said it was a "shambles" that could affect the referendum result.
The leading Leave campaigner and justice secretary Michael Gove, said: "In my heart is a desire to ensure that everyone possible can be given the vote. "The more people who vote the better. This is a lifetime-defining decision. I would like to see everyone who possibly can and who is entitled to vote play a part in this."
The UK will hold a referendum on June 23 on whether the country should remain a member of the union.
Membership of the European Union has been a controversial issue in the UK since the country joined the then European Economic Community in 1973.
Those in favor of a withdrawal from the EU argue that outside the bloc, London would be better positioned to conduct its own trade negotiations, better able to control immigration, and get rid of excessive EU regulations and bureaucracy.
Those in favor of remaining in the bloc argue that leaving it would risk the UK's prosperity, diminish its influence over world affairs, and result in trade barriers between the UK and the EU.
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