New rules to boost rights of EU citizens to vote and stand in municipal elections

European Union ministers adopted on May 26 an updated directive aiming to strengthen the right to vote and stand as candidate in municipal elections for EU citizens residing in a member state of which they are not nationals, a statement by the Council of the EU said.

These are referred to as “mobile EU citizens”, according to the statement.

The main aim of the revised directive is to facilitate the provision of information to citizens and to update outdated and obsolete provisions in the previous legislation dating from 1994, the statement said.

The new rules will facilitate the supply of information and strengthen citizens’ electoral rights, it said.

This will be done through providing proactive information to citizens concerned about their electoral rights and the conditions for registration, including informative translations in widely understood EU languages; simplified registration requirements to make registration processes more accessible and consistent across member states; and safeguards to prevent citizens from being automatically removed from the electoral rolls of their country of origin when they register abroad.

Despite the measures currently in place, mobile EU citizens still face difficulties in exercising their electoral rights in municipal elections, the statement said.

Problems include difficulties for mobile EU citizens to obtain correct information on how to exercise their electoral rights, burdensome registration processes and the effect of deregistration from elections in the member state of origin.

The legislative act will be published in the EU’s Official Journal and enter into force 20 days after this publication. EU member states will have two years after the directive’s entry into force to transpose most of its provisions in their national legislation.

(Archive photo: government.bg)