Article 21 – Suffrage

"The right to choose who runs the country forms an essential right for all citizens. It seems inconceivable that women only received the right to vote from 1919 onwards, but it is actually not that long ago."

What does this right mean?

Article 21 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) is about citizens' political and democratic rights. The article gives people the right to participate in the governance of their countries. The will of the people always has to be the foundation for the actions of the government. By guaranteeing periodical elections, this article ensures that the people can regularly elect again and the road to dictatorship becomes more difficult.

Democracy and human rights are inseparable. We cannot have the one without the other.

What is the history of this right?

Especially after the Second World War, there was a need for these democratic rights in the UDHR. Although Hitler's party did run in the elections, Hitler himself was not elected by the German people. Because of the ‘Enabling Act’, Hitler could set laws without parliament for four years. This Enabling Act did not come about democratically either. The dissenters were intimidated in such a way that they no longer dared to vote against it.

During the meetings on Article 21 of the UDHR, there was discussion on whether or not the right to resist against governance should also be included. A number of parties believed the people have the right to resist against the government if it does not or insufficiently listens to their will. Other parties believed it was important that the emphasis was on civilians' duty to follow the law.

In the end, the right to resist was not included in Article 21. The founders chose to put it in the preamble: ‘Whereas it is essential, if man is not be compelled to have recourse, as a last resort, to rebellion against tyranny and oppression, that human rights should be protected by the rule of law.’

Where and how is this right documented?

These political rights are included in Article 25 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. This article features the same important aspects of a democracy: the will of the people is the foundation of government action, and each citizen has the right to participate in governance by electing and by being elected.

Various treaties also refer to the democratic rule of law, such as in the preamble of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). This states that for the maintaining of all human rights, an ‘effective political democracy’ is needed. The Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union emphasizes the importance of democracy and the rule of law to the EU. Article 39 of the Charter arranges the right to vote and the right to run for office in elections for the European Parliament. EU citizens have to right to register as candidates in the European parliament or to vote for it. That suffrage may only be restricted in exceptional situations. One example of this is the Delvigne case, in which a French citizen was stripped of his suffrage after he was convicted of a crime.

Article 53 of the Constitution of the Netherlands states that the public representatives are elected by the Dutch people during elections by secret ballot. Article 54 of the Constitution arranges Dutch people's suffrage. Article 56 of the Constitution determines when a person can be elected to membership of the Senate or House of Representatives. The general stipulation added to the Constitution in 2022 enshrines that the Constitution has to protect the democratic rule of law. In history, men have had suffrage for longer than women. In the Netherlands, there is a general suffrage for men and women since 1919 (see the historical development of electoral systems and suffrage in the Netherlands [in Dutch]).

How topical is this human right?

One topical example is the discussion on banning political parties. There is sometimes a reason to want to ban a certain political party, such as this party wanting to undo the independence of the courts. That is a threat to democracy. But a party ban is an infringement on, for instance, the right to vote and the right to run for office. If a party is banned, the people who wanted to be elected to the House of Representatives with this party can no longer be elected. Citizens can then no longer vote for this party as well. So that also means a restriction of the right to fair and secret elections.

What is also topical, is the question whether or not the age of suffrage should perhaps be lowered to 16 years of age. Because this way, more people could use their right to vote and their right to run for office. That has influence on democracy in the Netherlands.

More generally, there are always discussions on citizens' say in national policy. For instance, what is the value of a referendum? Or are there other ways to give citizens more of a say in national governance?

In the Netherlands, there is only suffrage for people with the Dutch nationality. This means that some civilians are not allowed to vote, even though they are fully integrated in Dutch society and the decisions made by the government affect these civilians in their daily lives.