– We have young people who have lived here all their lives and who have been looking forward to voting in local elections. They can’t do that now. That’s what the head of the Longyearbyen youth council, Tine Westby Thorstad, says. – It weakens local democracy in a way that has not been considered before. Some have also been deprived of something they had previously, and that makes it a difficult situation. The reason why young people who have lived all their lives on Svalbard no longer have the right to vote in local elections is because they are foreign citizens. Previously, those who had lived on the island group for three years could vote in local elections even if they were not Norwegian citizens. The government tightened the regulations last year, partly because many more foreigners have moved to Svalbard. Svalbard is a unique society where residents from all countries that have signed the Svalbard Treaty have the right to live and work. This has led to many foreigners flocking there, among other things to work in a growing tourism industry. Since the Norwegian Immigration Act does not apply to the archipelago, it is much easier to move to Svalbard than to Norway to work. Around a third of Longyearbyen’s 2,600 inhabitants are foreign. Longyearbyen has approximately 2,600 inhabitants. One third of these are foreign nationals. Photo: Ida Louise Rostad / news Elections on Monday The polling station opens in Longyearbyen on Svalbard on Monday. A new local council will be elected there, and many hundreds who voted at the last election have now lost their right to vote. The government believes the change is important to retain Norwegian control over Svalbard. – We believe it is important to make a change, because we have to ensure that we have control in Svalbard, says Minister of Justice and Emergency Preparedness, Emilie Enger Mehl (Sp). Minister of Justice and Emergency Preparedness, Emilie Enger Mehl (Sp), believes the new rules will provide predictability in the future. Photo: ISMAIL BURAK AKKAN / news The new rules met strong opposition from several parties when they were out for consultation, but were nevertheless adopted. She points out that it is still possible for foreigners to vote if they have lived in a Norwegian municipality for three years. – Svalbard is financed in its entirety, approximately, by Norwegian taxpayers. It is important that those who will have the right to vote have also participated in that financing. It is part of the Norwegian volunteering model and the welfare system we have, says Mehl. Great outsiderness For many immigrants who spend their lives in Svalbard, it is not done with the stroke of a pen either to move to the mainland for three years, or to obtain Norwegian citizenship. Local board leader on Svalbard, Arild Olsen (Ap), believes that other solutions should be looked at to retain Norwegian control over Svalbard. He highlights limitations on how long one can sit on the Local Board as one of them, in order to equalize the concentration of power. – Now you get to vote who get quite a lot of power, and that is unfortunate. In addition, you get an outsider, where a fairly large proportion of the population is outside the democratic rules of the game, says Olsen. – Considering the security policy situation we are in now, you have everything to gain from having as much peace as possible in society, and measures like this do not contribute to that. Local association board chairman in Svalbard, Arild Olsen (Ap), understands that national authorities want better control. But he believes other measures should be taken instead. Photo: Rune Nordgård Andreassen / news The local board leader does not overlook the fact that some of those who have the right to vote fail to use it in protest against the new rules. – I hear rumors about it, but I hope not. I hope everyone who is entitled to vote goes to the polls and votes, because votes are important anyway – even if the proportion who can vote has decreased, says Olsen. Longyearbyen local government Svalbard is part of Norway, but is neither a county nor a municipality. Nevertheless, in 2001 it was decided to introduce a local democracy through elections to a local board. The local council corresponds to a municipality on the mainland and is responsible for a number of services to the residents. When the local government was established, most of the residents had a connection to a mainland municipality. This is not the case today. Today, the local board has 15 members, from the Labor Party (5), the Liberal Party (4), the Conservative Party (3), the Progressive Party (2) and the Green Party (1). – One step back Archaeologist Per Kyrre Reymert knows Svalbard society and the archipelago’s history well. Last year he was honored for his efforts for cultural heritage in Svalbard. He points out that Longyearbyen used to be a so-called “company town”, where the mining company Store Norske ruled the town. – When there was a notification to the Storting that dissolved Store Norske’s responsibilities, work was done to ensure that “company town” would disappear and everyone would have equal conditions, says Reymert. – But with that change with the right to vote for the local council, you have actually taken a step back again. Archaeologist Per Kyrre Reymert has made a persistent effort to preserve cultural monuments on Svalbard, and knows the archipelago’s history well. Photo: Torill Ustad Stav / news How the new rules will affect electoral participation and the result remains to be seen. But the leader of the youth council is clear about what will be important to those who are elected to the local council. – I want Longyearbyen and Svalbard to be an inclusive society, and those who are elected must do a good job of integrating those who have lost their right to vote, says Tine Westby Thorstad. The election in Svalbard was the topic of Sunday’s weekend morning.
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Foreign citizens are not allowed to vote – news Troms and Finnmark
