The Right of Nationalized People in Voting and Nominating for the Parliament and Local Councils A Comparative Study
Dr. Ashraf Alrefai
Associate professor of private international law – and public finance & economics – Kuwait International Law School
Abstract:
This article discusses the right of nationalized people in voting and being nominated for the Parliament and local councils. Reviewing other states’ legislations, it is noticed that there are three trends in this regard: First, some legislations tend to equalize between original citizens and nationalized people in rights and obligations, hence nationalized people have the right to vote and nominate. Second, some legislations temporarily deprive nationalized people from the right to vote and nominate. Third, some legislations temporarily deprive nationalized people from voting, but deprive them permanently from nomination.
This research investigates these three approaches set out in several constitutions and legislations of European countries, such as France and England, as well as Arab states. The article concludes that in most European states original citizens and nationalized people enjoy equal rights. In Arab states, some old legislations used to implement the same equality approach, but later amended it. Other Arab states adopted the second trend while some other states embraced the third trend. Among Arab States, only the Bahraini legislation adopted the equality principle between original citizens and nationalized citizens.