A new organization is attempting to mobilize the British expatriate vote in Norway ahead of the UK general election on May 7. They were reminding expats resident in Norway that the deadline to register to vote was Monday.
The newly founded Conservatives Abroad Norway is the latest in a string of organizations that support political parties and try to get expats to vote in general in their homelands’ elections. Jules Crossley-Nilsen, leader of the new group in Norway, was encouraged that steps have been taken in the UK to encourage more expats to vote in the upcoming election.
Although his group mostly wants to be “a voice of British Conservative expats in Norway toward UK politics,” Crossley-Nilsen said Conservatives Abroad Norway may also try to influence “issues that British expats have with the Norwegian government.” High on the agenda is dual citizenship, which is generally not allowed in Norway. Expats living in Norway who want to become Norwegian citizenships are usually required to give up their existing citizenship, and that’s hard for many to accept. As a result, they remain disenfranchised from national politics.
“The UK government has a much more permissive dual citizenship policy than Norway, without any problems,” said Crossley-Nilsen, who wants to make it possible for expats to also obtain Norwegian citizenship.
newsinenglish.no staff
