scholarly journals The Suffrage of Foreigners in the Municipal Elections from 2011 to 2019 in Spain

2021 ◽  
pp. 93-121
Author(s):  
David Moya Malapeira ◽  
Alba Viñas
Keyword(s):  
Political Participation ◽  
Present Model ◽  
Regulatory Framework ◽  
Selective Recognition ◽  
Cumulative Impact ◽  
Municipal Elections ◽  
Universal Suffrage ◽  
Electoral Turnout ◽  
Right To Vote ◽  
The Right

The current study takes stock of the accumulated experience in political participation at municipal elections of non-EU citizens in 2011, 2015 and 2019. It does so by framing the data and outcomes within the existing regulatory framework in Spain, a framework that very strongly conditions such participation. The text reviews the implications of the model of selective recognition of the right to vote (based on the voter’s nationality), and analyzes certain legal conditions steaming from the requirements of reciprocity, residence or previous census registration. The authors consider that the cumulative impact of those conditions is responsible for the very low electoral turnout in non-EU citizens participation. Lastly, the authors present some ideas to overcome such effect and make the most of the present model, at least until its replacement in municipal elections by a truly universal suffrage model.

THE RIGHT TO VOTE AS AN EU FUNDAMENTAL RIGHT AND THE EXPANDING SCOPE OF APPLICATION OF THE EU CHARTER OF FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS

2016 ◽  
Vol 75 (1) ◽  
pp. 24-27 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexander Kornezov
Keyword(s):  
European Parliament ◽  
Fundamental Rights ◽  
Eu Law ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Council Decision ◽  
Universal Suffrage ◽  
Charter Of Fundamental Rights ◽  
Scope Of Application ◽  
Right To Vote ◽  
The Right

IS the right to vote in European Parliament elections a matter for EU law? Until recently, the answer to this query seemed to be a clear “no”. Indeed, while Article 223(1) of the TFEU does confer on the European Union the competence to lay down a uniform procedure for the election of Members of the European Parliament (“MEPs”), this competence has not been exercised so far. Consequently, Article 8 of the Act concerning the election of the MEPs by direct universal suffrage, annexed to Council Decision 76/787/ECSC, EEC, Euratom (OJ 1976 L 278 p. 1, henceforth “the 1976 Act”), provides that the “electoral procedure shall be governed in each Member State by its national provisions”. Apart from the general principles of “direct universal suffrage in a free and secret ballot” and of non-discrimination on the ground of nationality, enshrined respectively in Article 14(3) of the TEU, Article 1(3) of the 1976 Act, and Article 20(2)(b) of the TFEU, there is nothing in EU law that governs specifically the eligibility to vote in EP elections.

The Issue of Parliamentary Suffrage at the Frankfurt National Assembly

1972 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 127-149 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carol Rose
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
The United States ◽  
Constitutional Convention ◽  
National Assembly ◽  
Political World ◽  
Lower House ◽  
Universal Suffrage ◽  
Right To Vote ◽  
The Right ◽  
Electoral Law

Universal suffrage is a commonplace in today's political world. In modern Western states it seems self-explanatory that there should be a general right to vote, or at least the pretense of such a right; and it is rather the exception to universal suffrage that requires explanation—at best as a quaint local peculiarity, at worst as a sign of pigheadedness or paranoia. In our era of bland populism, it is easy to forget the nineteenth century's passion over suffrage matters. But passion there was: from the sanscullottes of the 1790's to the suffragettes of the 1910's, no decade of the nineteenth century, no part of the Atlantic world was entirely free from this all-important question. Indeed suffrage issues erupted regularly whenever and wherever internal political tensions ran highest. Anti-Bourbon agitation in Restoration France, Chartist demands in England, Negro emancipation in the United States, demands for reform of Bismarckian Germany's Prussian heartland—these issues spanned the century, and they all contained at least some taint of the suffrage question. The European revolutions of 1848–49 came roughly at the mid-point of this century-long suffrage debate, and these revolutions too raised in various ways the issue of the right to vote. And one of the most interesting discussions of the franchise question came in February and March of 1849, when Germany's abortive constitutional convention, the Frankfurt National Assembly, turned its attention to an Electoral Law for the lower house of the projected national representative body.

scholarly journals Participación de personas con discapacidad en la vida política. Un análisis de contenido de la literatura reciente (1997-2019)

2021 ◽  
pp. 154-177
Author(s):  
Andrés Mauricio Guzmán Rincón ◽  
Adriana Caballero Pérez
Keyword(s):  
Political Participation ◽  
Voting Rights ◽  
Social Practices ◽  
International Human Rights Law ◽  
Human Rights Law ◽  
Persons With Disabilities ◽  
Academic Literature ◽  
Literature Reviews ◽  
Right To Vote ◽  
The Right

The right of persons with disabilities to vote is well-codified in international human rights law. Disability scholars, however, argue that persons with disabilities are frequently denied the right to vote. What are the recurrent concepts used by disability scholars to discuss this issue? From a content literature review, four main concepts are regularly used by authors to elaborate on voting rights in the context of disability: “political participation,” “barriers,” “electoral practices” that support or constraint the full and effective exercise of the right to vote, and “electoral-assistive devices” as technology solutions to assist voters with disabilities. Discussing all these concepts is uncommon in other literature reviews. Findings illustrate that an abundance of publications focuses on political participation of persons with intellectual or mental impairments. Such publications tend to concentrate only on statutory barriers. Less prevalent is academic literature regarding persons with other impairments, as well as procedural barriers. Even more sparse are publications elaborating on social practices. Similarly, assistive technology is not often discussed as a tool for the facilitation of the right to vote of persons with disabilities.

scholarly journals The discourse of political parties of the Republic of Moldova on migration and diaspora

2021 ◽  
pp. 5-17
Author(s):  
Victor Moraru ◽  
◽  
Ecaterina Deleu ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Political Parties ◽  
Political Participation ◽  
Political Activity ◽  
The Political ◽  
Republic Of Moldova ◽  
Right To Vote ◽  
Election Results ◽  
The Republic ◽  
The Right

The discourse of the political parties of the Republic of Moldova passed through multiple transformations over the years. Issues on migration and diaspora were promoted especially during election periods. The political authorities focused, in the dialogue with diaspora, on issues related to political participation, ensuring the right to vote, organizing a larger number of polling stations abroad. The discourse of the parties, more rhetorical, was reoriented from the issue of migration to the representatives of the diaspora and the formed communities. During election periods this interest increases in intensity, becomes more active and more constant. According to the election results, the attitude of the parties towards the diaspora also changes. Several parties have developed strategies to involve diaspora representatives in political activity and have tried to build a more or less constant dialogue.

scholarly journals A EFETIVAÇÃO DA DEMOCRACIA REPRESENTATIVA

2018 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 01-05
Author(s):  
Lucas Ferreira Furlan ◽  
Alessandro Severino Vallér Zenni
Keyword(s):  
Political Parties ◽  
Party System ◽  
The Political ◽  
Direct Participation ◽  
Universal Suffrage ◽  
Representative Model ◽  
Right To Vote ◽  
The Right

The article initially outlined brief considerations regarding the predominance of the representative regime in the Modern States. Subsequently, the existence of universal suffrage and political parties as the main characteristics of the representative model was listed. Considerations were made as to how the right to vote is exercised, as well as the need to safeguard mechanisms for direct participation, even as a way of ensuring a higher quality of voting. In relation to the political parties, pertinent considerations were made regarding the multi-party system and its application in the present time.

Kant on Traveling Blacksmiths and Passive Citizenship

Kant-Studien ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 112 (1) ◽  
pp. 105-126
Author(s):  
Kate A. Moran
Keyword(s):  
Political Participation ◽  
Active Citizenship ◽  
Day Laborers ◽  
Self Sufficiency ◽  
Right To Vote ◽  
The Law ◽  
The Right

Abstract Kant makes and elaborates upon a distinction between active citizenship and passive citizenship. Active citizens enjoy the right to vote and rights of political participation generally. Passive citizens do not, though they still enjoy the protection of the law as citizens. Kant’s examples have left commentators puzzling over how these distinctions follow from his stated rationale or justification for active citizenship, namely, that active citizens possess a kind of political and economic self-sufficiency. This essay focuses on one subset passive citizenry – that of traveling blacksmiths, barbers, and day laborers in order to examine Kant’s distinctions. I argue that these examples show that Kant’s concerns regarding dependence are, at least in some cases, pragmatic rather than political.

scholarly journals Elecciones municipales y derecho al voto de los extranjeros no comunitarios: estado de la cuestión y propuestas de reforma. // Municipal elections and the right to vote of non-EU foreigners: status of the question and reform proposals

2017 ◽  
Vol 1 (100) ◽  
pp. 81
Author(s):  
Rafael Naranjo de la Cruz
Keyword(s):  
Critical Analysis ◽  
Regulatory Regime ◽  
International Treaty ◽  
Municipal Elections ◽  
Foreign Population ◽  
Legislative Action ◽  
New Approaches ◽  
Right To Vote ◽  
New Interpretation ◽  
The Right

Resumen:Este trabajo estudia el estado de la cuestión relativa al derecho al voto de los extranjeros no comunitarios en las elecciones municipales y sugiere nuevos enfoques en relación con las distintas vertientes del tema. Asimismo, propone y analiza los cambios normativos que podrían concretarse a raíz de esa nueva concepción. La cláusula constitucional de reciprocidad no obliga a excluir del derecho a los extranjeros procedentes de países que no cumplen el requisito, sino solo a tomar en consideración su concurrencia a la hora de definir su régimen normativo.Esta interpretación de la cláusula de reciprocidad abre las puertas a una atribución general del derecho fundamental mediante ley, lo que hace necesario estudiar la posible inclusión en ella de cláusulas que limiten su alcance. Finalmente se defiende que no se puede atribuir al legislador un margen de actuación más amplio al regular las condiciones de ejercicio del derecho cuando este es ejercido por un extranjero, lo que sirve para cuestionar la constitucionalidad de la exigencia de inscripción en el censo electoral a instancia de parte.Summary:1. Introduction. 2. The constitutional reciprocity clause. 2.1 Reciprocity as a requirement. 2.2 Towards a new interpretation of the constitutional clause. 3. The problem of the source of law. 3.1 The overcoming of the international treaty as a norm of attribution of the right. 3.2 On the possibility of limiting the scope of legal recognition of the right. 3.2.1 Exclusions on grounds of nationality. 3.2.2 The criterion based on the percentage of resident foreign population. 3.2.3 Theparticular cases of Ceuta and Melilla. 4. Conditions for the exercise of the right to vote of foreigners in municipal elections. 4.1 Limits to legislative action. 4.2 Critical analysis of the requirement of registration in the electoral census by personal application. Abstract:This paper studies the state of the issue regarding the right to vote of non-EU foreigners in municipal elections and suggests new approaches in relation to the different aspects of the issue. It also proposes and analyzes the normative changes that could materialize as a result of this new conception. The constitutional clause of reciprocity does not oblige to exclude from the right foreigners from countries that do not fulfill the requirement, but only to take into account its concurrence when defining their regulatory regime. This interpretation of the reciprocity clause opens the door to a general attribution of the fundamental right by law, which obliges to study the possible inclusionin it of clauses that limit its scope. Finally, it is argued that the legislator cannot be given a broader scope of action when regulating the conditions of exercise of the right when it is exercised by a foreigner, which serves to challenge the constitutionality of the requirement of registration in the electoral census by personal application.

Political Participation: An Ultimate Priority

2021 ◽  
pp. 143-156
Author(s):  
Gauthier de Beco
Keyword(s):  
Political Participation ◽  
Cognitive Impairments ◽  
Voting Rights ◽  
Public Affairs ◽  
Political Life ◽  
Political Rights ◽  
Disabled People ◽  
Political Activities ◽  
Right To Vote ◽  
The Right

This chapter examines the right to political participation. It exposes the persistent lack of protection of disabled people’s political rights, including denial of the right to vote for those with cognitive impairments. It analyses what the CRPD requires in order for all disabled people to be able to exercise their voting rights and what it provides beyond the mere act of voting so as to encourage participation in ‘the conduct of public affairs’. It goes on to explain why the inclusion of disabled people in political life is a matter for the whole population and why there is no reason for denying the right to vote to any particular group. It also explores how to achieve political participation more broadly through real engagement in political activities.

scholarly journals Judicial protection and interpretation of the right to take part in a referendum – an overview of the jurisprudence of the Hungarian Constitutional Court and the Supreme Court

2019 ◽  
Vol 16 (4 (2)) ◽  
pp. 43-54
Author(s):  
Csaba Erdös
Keyword(s):  
Political Participation ◽  
Supreme Court ◽  
National Election ◽  
Constitutional Court ◽  
Final Decision ◽  
Parliamentary Elections ◽  
The Supreme Court ◽  
Right To Vote ◽  
The Right ◽  
Judicial Protection

This paper gives an overview of the jurisprudence of the Hungarian Constitutional Court and the Supreme Court regarding the right to take part in a referendum. This is a fundamental right of political participation, not unlike the right to vote and to stand as a candidate in parliamentary elections. It being a genuine fundamental right, the Constitutional Court interpreted its authentic meaning and stipulated the most important constitutional requirements related to this right. One of the most important requirements was the establishment of a system of remedies, where the final decision on the certification of a question proposed for a referendum must be taken by the Constitutional Court. Parliament fulfilled this legislative requirement and since 1998 the Constitutional Court has controlled the constitutionality of the decisions taken by the National Election Committee on the certification of the referendum questions proposed. The 2013 Act on referendum transferred this competence to the Supreme Court. Since then, the Constitutional Court shall only decide referendum-cases which were submitted with the so-called ‘direct constitutional complaint’, an extraordinary type of constitutional remedy. The present paper compares these two remedy systems introduced for the protection of the right to take part in a referendum.

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