More than 700 people, of Svalbard’s 2,500 inhabitants, have been affected by the Government’s decision. If they have not lived on the Norwegian mainland for three years, they can thus not run for local government. Or vote in the next election. – Can you call it a democracy – when so many fall away? Swedish Olivia Ericson asks. She now sits on the local board on Svalbard. There she is the only one with a foreign background. She can sit on the board for the next election, but then she can not be re-elected. – It will be a very, very small group that will be able to represent everyone. Ericson describes this as a sad day for Norway. – I must admit that it does not come as a surprise. More and more clearly that the government wants to change Svalbard policy. But what do you achieve by excluding people from the local government, she says. Of national value Minister of Justice and Emergency Management Emilie Enger Mehl justifies the decision with the fact that it will be better for the local government to have a connection to the mainland. – Connection to the mainland contributes to those who at all times manage this community, have good knowledge and understanding of Svalbard policy and the framework that applies to Svalbard, she says in the press release about the case. It states that the purpose of the local board is to ensure rational management of the common interests within the framework of Norwegian Svalbard policy. Thus, the local board also manages interests of national value. Significant funds from the mainland economy will be transferred to the operation of services and infrastructure on Svalbard, since there is a low tax level there. – Residents with a mainland connection will thus often have contributed to this financing. The requirement for a mainland connection must also be seen in the light of this. In the press release, Minister of Justice and Emergency Management Emilie Enger Mehl states that the government has made a thorough assessment and concluded that these are necessary changes. Photo: news – People think it’s crazy. Olivia Ericson says that this reasoning is too bad. She believes that the number of years lived on Svalbard should outweigh the number of years lived on the mainland. – A Norwegian person who has been here for eight months, has a much narrower view of Svalbard. I have lived here for ten years, and have much more experience to lean on. She is not the only one who reacts. Ericson tells news that everyone she has spoken to thinks this is a bad decision. – People think it’s completely crazy. This is not a development that is viewed positively. It could be a class divide here in Longyearbyen. She believes that people will not express themselves in the public space and rather stay at home, when they are shut out in this way. – Will you want to participate in a debate, when your vote is not worth anything? About 28 percent of Svalbard’s population has now lost their right to vote. Photo: Ida Louise Rostad / news
ttn-69
The government has decided that foreigners lose the right to vote on Svalbard: – People think it’s crazy – news Troms and Finnmark
