It is neither a priority for the Government nor was it in the Socialist program for the elections, but Corbacho Celestine, Secretary of Labour and Immigration, has opened a Pandora's box by proposing that non-communitarian foreigners be given the right to vote.
There are stipulations in the proposal i.e. that the voters should have been permanently resident for between eight and ten years. Nether the less this move would open the door to 2 million new voters who could effectively shape the formation of successive regional councils.
In areas like Alicante and Valencia, where there are large numbers of foreign residents, this change could be decisive.
The economic crisis and the threat of an increase in unemployment are more important issues to be dealt with at the moment. In any case the change would require a reform of the Constitution, a complex proceeding that would both require the consensus of all parties concerned.
NB Registered citizens in Bigastro already have the right to vote in the municipal elections. This proposal refers to the regional elections.
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