Council of the Swiss Abroad – e-voting to be made available in numerous countries for the 2025 election
04.10.2024 – Andreas Feller
To improve and modernise the process of electing candidates to the Council of the Swiss Abroad in 2025, an online voting system will be made available in 13 electoral constituencies. This will enable significantly more Swiss Abroad to vote – and make the “Parliament of the Fifth Switzerland” more representative as a result.
The Council of the Swiss Abroad (CSA) is the “Parliament of the Fifth Switzerland” and the highest body of the Organisation of the Swiss Abroad, SwissCommunity. Among other things, the CSA plays an important role in representing the interests of the Swiss Abroad in their dealings with the Swiss authorities.
Convening twice a year in Switzerland, it makes decisions, formulates opinions and lays the foundation for effective engagement. The CSA has 140 members, of whom 120 represent expats in countries and groups of countries around the world. Its remaining 20 members live in Switzerland, forming a domestic contingent to help ensure good dialogue with Swiss politics, society and business.
The CSA’s voting system is far from perfect, given that voter turnout is low in some countries or groups of countries. That is why the CSA’s direct elections working group has been looking to improve things ahead of the 2025 election, focusing in particular on developing a secure and reliable e-voting system (see “Swiss Review” 4/2024).
13 electoral constituencies
As a result, a total of 13 countries or groups of countries (electoral constituencies) intend to conduct direct elections in 2025, which would enable all registered Swiss nationals to elect their local delegates through e-voting. The Federal Department of Foreign Affairs supports this pilot project, which, crucially, will allow many more Swiss Abroad to cast their vote in just a few clicks, thus giving CSA delegates greater legitimacy – and making the CSA much more representative.
As it currently stands (on 15 August 2024), direct elections will take place in the following countries and groups of countries (electoral constituencies):
- Europe: Germany, UK, Netherlands, Türkiye, and the Spain/Portugal/Andorra country group
- North and South America: Canada, Peru, USA, and the Mexico/Belize country group
- Asia: Japan, Singapore, and the Central, West and South Asia country group (Afghanistan, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Georgia, India, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Maledives, Nepal, Oman, Pakistan, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Sri Lanka, Syria, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Yemen)
- Oceania: The Australia country group (Australia, Kiribati, Nauru, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu)
Who can stand for election?
The CSA elections will take place in spring 2025. “Swiss Review” and www.swisscommunity.org will publish the exact dates for every country nearer the time. Any Swiss citizen aged 18 or over can stand for election, provided they are registered with their local embassy or consulate and speak at least one of Switzerland’s official languages. Being a CSA member involves putting in a few hours of voluntary work every month as well as attending two to three CSA meetings a year (including travelling to Switzerland once a year to do so in person). Anyone who lives in one of the above-listed countries and is interested in standing for election can contact the direct elections working group directly at workgroup.osa@outlook.com.
Who can vote?
Likewise, any Swiss citizen aged 18 or over in one of the above-listed countries is entitled to vote, provided they are registered with their local embassy or consulate – and, crucially, registered under a valid email address. This is because invitations to vote will be sent by email. We therefore advise anyone who hasn’t done so already to provide their local embassy or consulate with an up-to-date email address by the end of 2024.
And what about everyone else?
In countries that are not taking part in the e-voting pilot project for the 2025 election, the respective umbrella organisations and Swiss associations will coordinate the ballot in the same way that they have done previously. Anyone who wishes to should feel free to encourage the parties representing their country of domicile to introduce direct online voting in time for the 2029 CSA election. Finally, please note that the latest information on the CSA election is available at www.swisscommunity.org.
(AF/MUL)
List of all current CSA members: www.revue.link/asr
Comments
Comments :
Wieso so wenige Länder in Europa?
Bonjour, wann funktioniert es in Frankreich?
Im Jahr 2025 nehmen nicht alle Länder teil, darunter Frankreich, das Land mit der grössten Schweizer Bevölkerung ausserhalb der Schweiz. Im Jahr 2029 ist geplant, dass alle Delegierten im Ausland direkt gewählt werden.
Les agradezco mucho mantenernos informados, no solamente de la actualidad, sino en este caso del canton de Jura.