Home > 1.1.1.3 Residence > MONTENEGRO- Opinion on the Compatibility of the Existing Legislation Concerning the Organisation of Referendums with Applicable International Standards
 
 
 
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Paragraph 49
 

In its Interim Report on the Constitutional Situation of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (CDL-INF(2001)023), the Venice Commission in 2001 addressed the  issue of voting rights:

“25. As regards the right to vote in the referendum, under the referendum law any citizen of the FRY resident for at least two years in Montenegro has this right. It is fully in line with international standards that in a federal State each citizen votes in the federated entity of his residence, irrespective of the fact of a possible entity citizenship. This voting rule corresponds to present practice in Montenegro for parliamentary elections and, while there may be arguments in favour of allowing all citizens to vote on the question of independence, the right to vote in a referendum should follow the right to vote in elections. A different rule would entail a substantial risk of double voting since Montenegro citizens resident in Serbia may vote in Serbian elections. The Commission therefore fully shares the assessment by ODIHR[18] that the residency requirement is justified in principle, although it seems excessive to require 24 months residence.”