Council of State, opinion n. 8007/04, answered to Emilia Romagna’s region request on the extension of civil rights and recognised that foreign citizens, residents in the region, are allowed to vote to districts elections.
In 2001 the Council of Forlì changed local statute and it enlarged the right to vote to districts election to foreign residents.
This disposition was blocked in January 2004 by a memorandum issued by Home Office. The memorandum underlined that actual laws only allows to have “foreigners’ councils” that can promote and propose instances to local administrations but nowhere the right to vote is allowed. According to Home Office enlarging this right would go against Constitution.
The opinion expressed by the Council of State turns the ministry’s point of view upside down and it helps in the recognition of civil rights, as many local administrations are trying to do. Venice is one of these.
We asked councillor Caccia his own point of view on this matter.
Question: How useful can Council of State opinion be to those Councils that are willing to change their Statute?
Answer: I managed to read and study Council of State opinion that came as an answer to Emilia Romagna region question on the enlargement of the right to vote. The Council of Forlì anticipated other councils’ idea and back April 9th 2001 changed local its local Statute providing for that foreigners could vote to districts administrative elections.
In the meanwhile past January 12th 2004 the same Council suspended the application of this rule because of a ministerial memorandum. Prefecture in Forlì-Cesena expressed its negative opinion on such enlargement.
Council of State chose to agree with the original choice made by the Council of Forlì. Councils can extend, via changing statutes, the right to vote to local district elections to foreign citizens.
Council of State’s opinion defines the meaning of population and of popular participation within a Council.
Consolidated act on local institutions (267/2000) states that districts institutions represent the need of the population, within the Council unity, and they are elected in the ways local Statutes choose.
The same act article 8 states that Councils can promote organisations that help the participation of citizens to local administration.
From this point of view the interpretation of “population” and of “popular participation” given by Council of State is very interesting: “the noun ‘population’, together with the principle of ‘popular participation’ (…) clearly implies that all residents are part of local population, both Italian and non Italian citizens, that stable live in the Council’s territory and therefore are fully allowed, just like Italian citizens are, to have institutions listen and answer to their needs, which are connected to their living in the territory”.
This recognition is extremely important also from a juridical point of view because it strengthens the idea of citizenship linked to residence (it is the way we like to call it) or of civil citizenship (as EU Parliament called it). This official opinion starts empowering the idea of enlargement of citizenship rights (social-economical, civil and political rights) to all men and women that live in a territory apart from their origin and nationality.
This is such a great passage in civility and it is fundamental to the enlargement of the right to vote to administrative elections to migrants that are residents in our territories.
Unfortunately Council of State does not focus on this specific issue.
First of all because it wasn’t asked to, but also because Council of State believes that Italian Constitution would hold some reserves about enlarging the right to vote to local election via modifying local Statutes.
We anyway believe that this expressed opinion is largely significant and it is just a first step towards what many small and big Councils, such as Venice’s and Genoa’s, are trying to do: recognition of the right to participation, to local political representation to the New Citizens that migrants living in our territories.
