British nationals in the Netherlands are being urged to nominate a friend of relative in the UK to vote on their behalf in the December 12 general election, because of the unreliability of the postal voting system.

Election administrators in some areas have been writing to voters suggesting they use a proxy vote to make sure their vote counts.

Thousands of people were excluded from the May European elections because postal votes arrived too late to be counted.

Still our advice, register a proxy fast to avoid missing out on having your say. Don’t risk the international Xmas postal services – ballot papers often don’t turn up, let alone at this time of year. https://t.co/hgVbME8juy

— British in Europe (@BritishInEurope) October 29, 2019

Nearly 50,000 adult British nationals live in the Netherlands but only people who left the UK less than 15 years ago are able to register to vote in the election.

Euronews has compiled a step by step guide.