“It would be a great first step if we had 40 per cent women”

In future, the OSA wants all Swiss Abroad in any given country to be able to participate in CSA elections, regardless of whether they are registered with a Swiss association or not. Would direct elections such as these help to further the female cause?

Women’s chances increase if more of them can vote and stand for election. At least that is the theory. However, experience shows that a change of system on its own is not enough. We need an environment that encourages women. Women often still feel less empowered to stand for office. Perhaps they need fresh role models.

This is all still hypothetical, because direct elections will not be taking place in 2021.

This is true. The best direct elections are when everyone can vote online. However, the suspension of e-voting in Switzerland has set us back. No other government solutions are available. Consequently, we are pinning our hopes on an alternative e-voting system. We have already evaluated it, but procuring and rolling it out takes time. Nevertheless, our efforts underscore how important introducing direct elections remains. Essentially, direct elections would provide the CSA with greater legitimacy and political leverage. Even if we used our own alternative e-voting system, we would still need assistance from the government. Only the government can verify which Swiss Abroad are eligible to vote. Being a non-profit organisation, we are unable to do this ourselves: data protection laws prevent us from accessing the necessary information.

After being freshly elected in 2021, which issues will the CSA have to address?

Certainly, one or two ongoing sagas await us. The problem with the banks and all the issues around social security are of great concern to the “Fifth Switzerland”. Being able to exercise political and voting rights is extremely important to many Swiss Abroad. The Covid-19 pandemic has deprived many of these rights. Ultimately, the exercise of political rights should be an exercise in diversity. Giving the “Fifth Switzerland” a voice gives us a more complete picture of Swiss society.

Another issue is the process of modernisation that the OSA itself is undergoing. We want to facilitate greater dialogue with Swiss who live abroad. In addition, we want to handle the OSA’s finances differently in order to build up better reserves that will enable us to achieve our objectives more quickly and effectively.

A worldwide election

Between January and June 2021, Swiss expatriates around the world will vote to determine the composition of the Council of the Swiss Abroad (CSA), referred to as the “Parliament of the Fifth Switzerland”. The CSA has 140 delegates, of whom 120 represent Swiss communities abroad and 20 live in Switzerland. Not all countries share the same procedure for electing CSA delegates, so the vote will not be centrally coordinated. Everything you need to know about the elections will appear in your regional edition of “Swiss Review”, courtesy of the Swiss association or umbrella organisation in your area.