On Tuesday afternoon, the Chamber of Deputies passed another amendment to the election law. A majority of MPs agreed that the change from July 2022 did not go far enough.
The previous amendment repealed the residence requirement, allowing non-Luxembourgish nationals to vote in municipal elections even if they have not lived in Luxembourg for five years.
However, this change was reportedly insufficient because some people were still barred from voting. MP Guy Arendt from the Democratic Party (DP), the rapporteur of the draft bill, noted that officials working for the European institutions or agents of international organisations based in third countries were still unable to vote. This is because they have a "legitimation permit" (carte de légitimation) rather than a residence permit (carte de séjour).
The Chamber of Deputies also approved a technical amendment to provide residents enough time to register. Non-Luxembourgish nationals must register to vote in the municipal elections by 17 April. MPs wanted to ensure that the law gives residents enough time to register before the deadline.
MP Mars di Bartolomeo from the Luxembourg Socialist Workers' Party (LSAP) stressed that it is not the legislators' intention to exclude people. This is why the amendment was passed to allow those with the aforementioned documents to vote, according to Bartolomeo, who added that this change only applies to the municipal elections and not the legislative elections.
Read also: Here is all you need to know about the 2023 municipal elections
