EU Country Removes Voting Rights for Permanent Third-Country Nationals

Slovenia has introduced a new law that means citizens from non-EU countries will no longer be able to vote in local elections – even if they have permanent residency and are long-term residents in the country. The decision has sparked strong criticism and may now be reviewed by the country’s Constitutional Court.

The amendment to the law in Slovenia has come into effect and means that third-country nationals with permanent residency and a permanent registered address in the country lose their right to vote in municipal elections. This change marks a clear shift from the system that has been in place since 2002.

Previously, people from non-EU countries with permanent residency were allowed to vote in local elections in the municipality where they lived. However, this voting right did not apply to national elections. According to the previous rules, they could vote for mayor and municipal council but could not run for these positions themselves.

The new law has been pushed through by parties on the right of the political spectrum. The parliament adopted the amendments in June with 47 votes in favor and 32 against.

The issue has at the same time become a legal battleground. The parliament’s own legislative and legal department has assessed that the law may be constitutionally problematic. According to their assessment, it is particularly significant that the right to vote has been a statutory right for this group for 24 years, and the proposed law does not give any reasons to justify its removal.

The opposition has therefore announced a request for review by Slovenia’s Constitutional Court and simultaneously wants the law to be temporarily suspended. If the court decides on such a suspension, the new law could be set aside before the municipal elections scheduled for 15 November.

The Council of Europe has also reacted. The Council of Europe’s Congress of Local and Regional Authorities expressed serious concern over the amendment in June, not least because it is being enacted just a few months before the municipal elections. The Congress pointed to the principle of stability in electoral law and has requested an opinion from the Venice Commission regarding the law’s compatibility with European standards for local elections.

Political Rights

Critics in Slovenia argue that the law deprives a group of residents of political rights they have had for more than two decades. Organizations representing foreigners have emphasized that many of those affected have lived in Slovenia for a long time, work and pay taxes, and have families and an established everyday life in the local community.

At the same time, it is clear from Slovenian legislation that the right to vote in national elections is tied to Slovenian citizenship. The new law, therefore, mainly changes local voting rights for third-country nationals from a model where permanent residency granted voting rights, to a model where citizenship becomes decisive.

The issue is thus far from settled. The new law has entered into force, but a potential constitutional review could still change the conditions ahead of this autumn’s municipal elections.