Berlin coalition parties propose granting voting rights to long-term foreign residents

Linke, SPD and the Greens have drafted a joint paper calling for an overhaul of Berlin's voting rules so that residents without German citizenship can vote after five years of residence. The proposal would extend both active and passive voting rights in state parliament and district assemblies, removing the passport requirement the parties describe as contrary to participation and anti-discrimination principles. The electorate could grow by about a million people, using data from the Amt für Statistik Berlin‑Brandenburg which listed 930,405 foreign nationals in the city.

Currently, 617,445 of them already meet the five-year stay and minimum-age criteria, and a further 278,785 are projected to qualify by the 2031 election. The parties note that migration flows, naturalisation and deaths could affect the final numbers, but the reform would significantly expand the voter base beyond one outlet 16-year-old German citizens.