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Lawyer: Dual Citizenship Without Right to Vote Is Weird Idea
Friday 14 May 2010 Zoom in | Print page
Bratislava, May 14 (TASR) - Hungary's intention to grant citizenship to ethnic Hungarians living abroad but withholding the right to vote from them is a weird idea with hardly foreseeable legal consequences, one of Slovakia's most noted lawyers Ernest Valko told TASR on Friday.
The lawyer pointed out that the right to vote and to be voted for is among the most basic. "If you are denied this right, you may have citizenship, but you're a second-class citizen," said Valko.
He also stressed that laws in several countries don't allow dual citizenship, meaning that those who gain citizenship of another country lose their original one. If they decide to stay in their original country, they won't be able to take part in elections. Meanwhile, several Slovak politicians have indicated that the Slovak Constitution could be amended to outlaw dual citizenship.
When it was pointed out that such a 'second-class' Hungarian citizen would be able to move to Hungary in order to be able to vote, Valko replied that in that case the whole idea of providing dual citizenship would have no sense.
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