A lesson in the importance of electoral registration came to us last week from Ukraine. A local politician dressed as Star Wars villain Emperor Palpatine stormed a neighbourhood ballot in Odessa, taking a seat on the city council with 54.4% of the votes. In a later message to the electorate, the victorious Mr Palpatine questioned: ‘People, what's wrong with you?'

This admittedly illustrates the crucial role of electoral registration in bizarre form. Yet no matter how popular one seems, perceived levels of support won't amount to much if one's potential voters haven't signed up.