Between 11 April and 11 May 2025, the Swiss Abroad will vote to determine the new composition of the Council of the Swiss Abroad, referred to as the “Parliament of the Fifth Switzerland”. Thirteen regions are participating in the “Direct elections” pilot, with Swiss nationals in these regions being able to elect their local delegates directly via e-voting.
The pilot will be conducted in the following countries and electoral constituencies: Australia, Germany, Iberian peninsula (Spain and Portugal), Japan, Mexico, Netherlands, Peru, Singapore, Türkiye, USA, UK, and the Central, West and South Asia electoral constituency (Afghanistan, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Georgia, India, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Maldives, Nepal, Oman, Pakistan, the occupied Palestinian territories, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Sri Lanka, Syria, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Yemen).
Swiss citizens who live in one of the aforementioned countries and wish to vote should make sure that they are registered with the competent Swiss representation (embassy or consulate) under a valid email address.
They can do this directly via the FDFA online desk or by sending an email to the relevant Swiss representation. Anyone who has provided only one email address per household should note that only one vote can be cast per email address. It is still possible to change this, i.e. give the email address of every person in your household who is eligible to vote. The voting period will run from 11 April to 11 May 2025. Registered voters will receive relevant instructions by email.
Finally, anyone who not only wishes to vote but also wants to stand for election should contact the election coordinator in their electoral constituency as soon as possible.
The official election website: www.swisscommunity.org/de/elections
ANDREAS FELLER, MEMBER OF THE DIRECT ELECTIONS WORKING GROUP
* “Palestine” – a clarification
In edition 5/2024, we mentioned that Swiss who live in “Palestine” can participate in the e-voting pilot. Some readers were surprised and angry, because Palestine is neither a precise geographical area nor does Switzerland recognise Palestine as a state. It was careless, confusing and unfortunate of us to use the term – and we are sorry. We had no intention of making a political statement and only wanted to confirm that the small number of Swiss Abroad who live in what the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs refers to as “occupied Palestinian territory”, i.e. the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, as well as the Gaza Strip, are also eligible to vote. (MUL)
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