<P> The 1992 Maastricht Treaty imposed reciprocity inside the European Union concerning voting rights in local elections; this already existed for the European elections . In several European states, the public debate on the right of foreigners to vote was therefore renewed, as some foreign residents had the right to vote (European foreign residents) while others, non-Europeans, did not . As a result of this debate, Luxembourg, Lithuania, Slovenia and Belgium extended the right to vote, in different manners, to all foreign residents (which was already the case in Sweden, Denmark, Finland and Netherlands). </P> <P> The European Parliament, the Council of Europe and the Baltic Sea States Conference have produced various recommendations in favor of the introduction of the right to vote and of eligibility to all foreign residents in local elections . The 1992 Convention on the Participation of Foreigners in Public Life at Local Level from the Council of Europe, is opened to signatures and ratifications . Then there is the Council Directive 94 / 80 / EG from the 19th of December 1994 defining to which political organs other EU citizen can vote . </P> <P> The Commonwealth of Nations (CN), usually known as the Commonwealth and formerly as the British Commonwealth, is a voluntary association of over 50 independent sovereign states, most of which are former colonies of the British Empire . A few Commonwealth countries, including the United Kingdom itself, allow Commonwealth citizens (formerly "British subjects") voting or eligibility rights at all levels, either with or without specific restrictions not applying to local citizens: Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Belize, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, Malawi (all foreign residents, not only Commonwealth citizens), Mauritius, Namibia (all foreign residents, not only Commonwealth citizens), New Zealand (all foreign residents, before 1975 only Commonwealth citizens), Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines . </P> <P> (CN member) Commonwealth citizens may vote and are eligible for parliamentary elections, but "allegiance to a foreign State" is a criterion for ineligibility . </P>

Who is not allowed to vote in nz