Grand Council BS Basel Grand Council in favor of voting rights for foreigners

Foreign nationals with a permanent residence permit should be able to vote and stand for election in Basel-Stadt. On Thursday, after a long and emotional debate, the Basel Grand Council approved a corresponding amendment to the constitution by 53 votes to 41.

Around 38 percent of people living in Basel-Stadt over the age of 18 and without Swiss citizenship would not be allowed to vote here, said Barbara Heer (SP), President of the Justice and Sports Commission (JSSK), which provided preliminary advice. This would exclude a considerable minority from political decisions.

Specifically, foreign nationals should in future be given the opportunity to participate in local votes and elections. The condition for this is that they must have lived in Basel-Stadt for at least five years and have a permanent residence permit. The right to stand for election, i.e. the opportunity to be elected, is excluded.

Riehen and Bettingen can decide for themselves whether they want to introduce adequate voting and electoral rights. However, the two municipalities want nothing to do with this.

Commons rule out compromise

The bill is a compromise of the JSSK based on an SP motion. A minority of the committee, like the spokespersons of the conservative parliamentary groups, took the view that there could be no compromises in this matter. Anyone wishing to vote should be naturalized, said FDP councillor David Jenny, spokesman for the minority of the committee.

Government President Conradin Cramer (LDP) pointed out two flaws in the JSSK compromise. The unbundling of active and passive voting rights is unusual in the Swiss legal tradition, he said. And the fact that the rural municipalities of Riehen and Bettingen would be treated separately was also unattractive. Nevertheless, the cantonal government did not oppose the compromise proposal.

The debate revealed a Council divided along the lines of the left-green and middle-class parliamentary groups. The Green Liberal councillors, who voted in favour of the JSSK compromise, tipped the scales in favour of approval.

It was time to take this step, said GAB spokesperson Fleur Weibel. She pointed out that the French-speaking cantons of Neuchâtel and Jura already had this voting right. Basel-Stadt could play a pioneering role in German-speaking Switzerland, as it once did with the introduction of women's suffrage, she said. SP spokesperson Mahir Kabakci even spoke of the opportunity to make history by eliminating this democratic deficit.

Naturalization as the right path

SVP spokesperson Felix Wehrli accused the left-wing of the Council and the government of politicizing past the people, who had already said no to a corresponding bill several times. FDP spokesperson Luca Urgese took the view that the right to vote should be the final step in an integration process that should be preceded by naturalization. It would be better to concentrate on facilitating and thus promoting naturalization.

The electorate will have the final say, as the constitutional amendment is subject to a mandatory referendum.

SDA