In the future, villages, towns and cities in Canton Bern will be given the right to allow expats to vote, under new plans approved by the Grand Council. Supporters argue that the rules restricting expat voting rights are outdated, while opponents affirm that the only people who should be allowed to vote are Swiss citizens.

Bern moves to join other Swiss cantons in offering expats the vote

On September 3, by a razor-thin margin, 77 votes to 73, the Grand Council of Bern approved a plan to expand voting rights to those who hold residence permits. Under the plans, all local councils in the region would be given the right to allow expats and internationals to vote and stand for office in communal elections and referendums.

While expats are unable to vote nationally, some Swiss cantons have extended the franchise beyond Swiss citizens. Fribourg, Jura, Neuchâtel and Vaud allow non-citizens to vote, elect officials and even stand for election themselves at the local level, provided certain age and residency requirements are met. Geneva, the Swiss region with the highest proportion of expats, allows internationals to vote locally but not stand for election.

However, the plan being proposed in Bern is most similar to those in place in Basel-Stadt, Graubünden, and Appenzell Ausserrhoden, where local authorities have the option to allow expats to vote and be elected. This system leads to a patchwork of rules across the regions - only 10 of Graubünden’s 208 municipalities and three of 20 Appenzell towns allow foreigners to vote.

It's "about having a say" say supporters of expanding voting rights in Bern

"It is very important for a democracy that people have a say," noted Anna Tanner, spokesperson for the Social Democratic and Young Socialist parties. “We are dependent on people being involved in life. At the municipal level, it is usually not about particular interests, but about having a say.”   

The Green and Alternative List parties also supported the plan, arguing that the fact that foreign nationals - who make up 17,9 percent of Canton Bern’s population - can’t vote is extremely “out of date.” "The right to co-determination is of great importance for a democracy," concluded Green Liberal Party spokesperson Hannes Zaugg-Graf.

Voting reform in Canton Bern faces stiff opposition

However, the proposal faces strong opposition, with both FDP. The Liberals and the Swiss People’s Party’s Walter Schilt telling reporters that naturalisation should be the sole path to the franchise. "Political participation is not a human right," Schilt argued. The FDP added that the proposal gave local communities too much leeway in making their own election rules.

What's more, while the law has passed the cantonal parliament, because it requires a revision of the cantonal constitution the matter has to be made a referendum. In what will be bad news for supporters of the plan, the last proposal designed to expand the franchise to expats was rejected by 72,3 percent of Bernese voters in 2010.

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