Foreigners in Moutier familiarise themselves with the right to vote
Keystone-SDA
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From 2026, Moutier will be part of the Swiss canton of Jura, gaining more than 1,000 new voters. In Jura, foreigners will have the right to vote at municipal and cantonal level. On Monday around 50 people were informed about their new rights.
Foreign nationals will be granted the right to vote in municipal and cantonal elections in canton Jura this year, i.e. before Moutier officially becomes part of Jura at the beginning of 2026. For example, they will be able to vote in the Jura cantonal elections in October.
In contrast to canton Bern, canton Jura grants foreign nationals who have lived in Switzerland for ten years and in the canton for one year the right to vote in cantonal matters.
“Of the 2,100 foreigners registered in Moutier, who make up almost 30% of the population, more than 1,100 will be able to exercise their right to vote shortly,” emphasised the visibly moved mayor Marcel Winistoerfer at the information event on Monday evening. “I know people in the room who have been waiting for this moment for more than 50 years.”
The new voters can also take part in two municipal votes in Moutier in October: on the 2026 budget with the tax rate and on the new organisational regulations, which have been adapted to Jura law.
“You will have the right to express your opinion on the political life of your city,” emphasised city councillor Valentin Zuber after welcoming the participants in the eight languages most commonly spoken in Moutier. The Portuguese community is the largest.
The duration of residence in Moutier is deemed to be the duration of residence in canton Jura. The granting of voting rights to foreign nationals is governed by the concordat between cantons Bern and Jura.
At the information evening, Coline Steullet-Scherrer, who is responsible for political rights at the State Chancellery of the Canton of Jura, introduced the audience to the political system of Jura. They then got straight down to practising.
The participants were given a ballot envelope with fictitious material to learn how to fill in a ballot paper correctly. Many seemed surprised by the mass of documents and the complexity of the process.
But everyone seemed equally pleased to take this step towards integration. The extension of political rights was one of the arguments put forward by those in favour of the move during the referendum campaign for the change of canton from Bern to Jura.
Translated from German by DeepL/ts
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