A proposed amendment to the Local Elections Act sought to remove local voting rights from third-country nationals holding a permanent residence permit and registered permanent residence in Slovenia.
The proposal raises an important constitutional question concerning the withdrawal of a statutory voting right enjoyed for more than two decades. The National Assembly would need to provide specific reasons for such an intensive interference with the principle of legitimate expectations under Article 2 of the Constitution and explain why the reduction of an attained level of human-rights protection is not arbitrary.
These are persons with the highest level of legal integration into Slovenian society, while European electoral standards are developing towards broader participation of foreign residents in local democratic decision-making. I therefore see no convincing reasons supporting the constitutionality of the proposed withdrawal.