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The Council of Europe's view on expat voting rights
Since 1982, the 47-member Council of Europe (of which
the UK has been a member
since 1949) has consistently adopted resolutions and
recommendations on issues
of restrictions on the right to vote.
These are also detailed in paragraphs 18 to 46 (covering a
full seven pages – see
pages 4 to 10) of ECHR Application no. 19840/09 by
As early as 1982, the Council of Europe’s Recommendation 951 on
the voting rights
of nationals of Council of Europe member states, noted that
an estimated 9 million
nationals of Council of Europe member states did not
reside in their country of origin,
but in another Council of Europe member
state. These citizens cannot normally take
part in elections or referenda held
in their country of residence
because they are not
nationals of that country.
Many such citizens, Recommendation 951 continues, are
also unable under national
legislation to take part in elections and referenda
held in their country of origin because
they have no domicile there. Consequently, millions of nationals of
Council of Europe
member states are deprived of all civic rights.
Bearing in mind that one of the Council of Europe’s
major concerns is to preserve
and strengthen democracy and civic rights in member states, and given
the importance
it attaches in particular to freedom of expression, freedom of
peaceful assembly and
freedom of association, Recommendation 951 concludes that steps should be taken
to ensure that
every national of a member state is able to exercise his political rights,
at
least in his country of origin, when he resides in another Council of Europe
member
state.
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