Voting and Elections in Monaco

Who has the vote

Monaco is one of the few countries where the electorate is a small minority of the population. Only Monegasque nationals aged 18 or over who have not been deprived of their civic rights by a court can vote — around 7,600 registered electors in 2023, out of some 39,000 residents. Nationality, not residence, is the criterion: a foreign resident of forty years' standing has no vote, and neither does a French or Italian citizen living next door to the polling station. How nationality is acquired is explained in our Monaco citizenship guide.

The electoral roll is kept by the Mairie de Monaco, which also issues the voter's card (carte d'électeur) before each election. Newly adult or newly naturalised Monegasques should check that they appear on the roll; a card that has not arrived can be collected on polling day on presentation of ID.

The two elections

National elections — the Conseil National

Every five years Monegasques elect the 24 members of the Conseil National, the Principality's parliament. The vote is held in a single round under a mixed system:

• 16 seats go to the 16 candidates with the most votes across the whole country (there are no districts);
• 8 seats are shared proportionally, by highest average, between lists that obtained at least 5 % of the votes.

Candidates must be Monegasque, at least 25 years old and hold the nationality for at least five years. Lists must carry at least 13 names. The last election was held on 5 February 2023: L'Union Nationale Monégasque took all 24 seats with 89.6 % of the votes against Nouvelles Idées pour Monaco. The next is due in early 2028. How the assembly then works — sessions, committees, its relationship with the Prince's Government — is covered in our guide to the Conseil National.

Communal elections — the Conseil Communal

Every four years the same electorate chooses the 15 members of the Conseil Communal, the municipal council that runs the Mairie (civil status, markets, nurseries, cemeteries, home help for the elderly, cultural venues). This vote is a two-round list ballot: candidates who obtain an absolute majority in the first round are elected outright; remaining seats are decided in a second round. The councillors then elect the Mayor from among themselves. The last communal election was on 19 March 2023; the next is due in spring 2027.

How the ballot works: panachage

In both elections Monegasques vote for individual candidates rather than for a closed list. Panachage is allowed: you may strike names off the list you take, add names from a competing list, or compose your own selection up to the number of seats to fill. This personalised vote is an old Monegasque tradition and it means that the order of a list matters far less than in France or Italy — every candidate's personal score is published.

Polling day in practice

• One polling station: for recent elections voting took place at the Espace Léo Ferré in Fontvieille, open from 8:00 to 19:00 without a break. The Mairie confirms the venue and hours before each election.
• Bring your voter's card and a piece of identity.
• Proxy voting (vote par procuration) is possible; the proxy card issued by the Mairie must be shown by the person voting on your behalf.
• Results are counted the same evening and published in the Journal de Monaco, the official gazette, along with each candidate's score.

Voting is not compulsory. Turnout was 57.3 % in the 2023 national election.

Foreign residents: what you can do

You cannot vote in Monaco, but you do not lose your rights at home:

• French nationals register with the Consulate General of France in Monaco and vote there in French presidential, legislative (Monaco is part of the 5th constituency for French residents abroad) and European elections.
• Italian nationals vote by post through the Consulate General of Italy in Monaco for Italian national elections (and referendums).
• Other nationalities follow their own embassy's procedures; none can vote in European elections from Monaco, since the Principality is not an EU member.

Foreign residents can still weigh in on public life: public sittings of the Conseil National are open to everyone and streamed online, every councillor has a public e-mail address, and the Mairie and Government run public consultations on major urban projects. For how the institutions fit together, see the guide to Monaco's institutions.

Key points

• Only Monegasque nationals aged 18+ vote — roughly 7,600 people.
• Two elections: national (24 seats, 5 years, one round) and communal (15 seats, 4 years, two rounds).
• Panachage lets you pick individual names across lists.
• Single polling station (Espace Léo Ferré in recent elections), 8:00–19:00; proxy voting via the Mairie.
• Next dates: communal elections spring 2027, national elections early 2028.