ELECTION FEVER (4)

It's fairly straightforward who can vote in the forthcoming Danish general election. Or is it?

One problem is if you are Danish and live abroad. In many countries, you don't lose the right to vote if you move abroad, provided you keep up a registration. But in Denmark's Basic Law, you have to have a "fixed place of abode within the Kingdom", and that has been interpreted as meaning that you have been resident for two years. If you have lived abroad for longer than that, then you lose the right to vote.

It is estimated that this will affect some 160,000 Danes over the age of 18. In a close race, that could be a deciding factor.

Walter Blotscher