By Carmen Trochsler, Australian Delegate to the Council of the Swiss Abroad*
In 2017, a first-time experiment allowed Swiss citizens in Australia and Mexico to cast their votes online for their delegates of the Council of the Swiss Abroad (CSA). The introduction of e-voting expanded the electorate, enabling every Swiss citizen aged 18 and above, registered with a Swiss embassy or consulate in their country of residence, and possessing an email address, to participate.
The project demonstrated success in both countries. This article sheds light on the recent election process changes in the Council of the Swiss Abroad.
Conversations on Electoral Reform in the Council of the Swiss Abroad since 2010
The discussion on reforming the election process started as early as 2010 at CSA Meetings. Advocates for the new election procedure contended that broadening the electorate would enhance the assembly's legitimacy, given that only approximately 4% of Swiss expatriates are members of Swiss clubs. Opponents within the council argued that relaxing electoral rules could undermine the exclusive right of Swiss clubs to send delegates to the council.
At the council meeting in August 2016, a majority approved the expansion of the electorate for Swiss communities abroad, going beyond traditional clubs. Certain countries, such as the UK, were already implementing a mixed system, where delegates were elected by both Swiss associations and other registered Swiss citizens residing abroad. Australia and Mexico were chosen to conduct pilot projects for election of the delegates by Swiss residing in the respective countries.
The 2017 pilot project Down Under
Australia holds the third largest Swiss expatriate community outside of Europe, following the United States and Canada. As of 2017, the country had a total of 25,100 registered Swiss citizens. Based on the size of the Swiss Community, the country has four seats allocated in the Council of the Swiss Abroad.
Prior to 2017, the four delegates in Australia were chosen by the Swiss associations. Australia has 12 associations recognised by the Organisation of the Swiss Abroad. Roughly 3 – 5% of the Swiss registered in Australia are a member of one of these clubs. The decision-making process for nominations and elections was mostly confined to the committee of the clubs interested in the matter.
The 2017 elections revolutionised this process on two fronts: first, nominations to stand as candidate were open to all Swiss over the age of 18 and the call reached them with an email from the Consulate General. Second, all Swiss registered with an email at the Consulate over the age of 18 had the opportunity to vote for their representatives. Out of the 25,100 registered Swiss citizens in Australia, 14,800 (59%) were eligible to vote.
The elections were carried out entirely by electronic means. With e-voting still in full swing in many cantons back in 2017, the canton of Geneva was making its e-voting platform available to the Organisation of the Swiss Abroad (OSA).
The outcome was remarkable, as, for the first time, the number of candidates exceeded available seats, not only by one person, but by double. Eight candidates stood for election for four seats, which provided voters with a genuine choice. As for the elections, a total of 1,100 Swiss individuals seized the opportunity to participate in determining the elected delegates. Whilst the participation still seems humble with 7.4%, it is a big change from the estimated 0.1 – 0.3% participation prior to 2017.
Elections 2021
For the elections in 2021 the e-voting platform of the Canton of Geneva was unfortunately not available anymore. The decision was made in Australia to continue with direct elections, albeit due to a lack of resources not in electronic form.
Eligibility criteria for both nomination and election remained unchanged. The voting ballots were published in the ‘Swiss Review’ and made available on a dedicated website for downloading. The assistance of the Consulate General with two separate mailouts, as in 2017, was not available. Consequently, the call for nominations reached Swiss only via the Swiss Review and social media, which may have contributed to the fact that we had no other nominations than those of the delegates at the time.
Whilst the call to cast the vote was sent to all Swiss registered with the consulate, the number of Swiss seizing the opportunity to download, print and return the ballot was 1.2% This result doesn’t come as a surprise, as many felt there is no point in doing all the paperwork if all candidates are going to be elected anyway.
Looking back - and forward to 2025
The pilot project in 2017 has been a great opportunity for Swiss in Australia to democratically choose their delegates and for us to gain legitimacy as the representatives of the Swiss community in Australia.
Having more candidates than available seats in openly conducted elections offers voters a genuine choice. Voters rightly want to know who we are and have confidence in our abilities to do this role well. Additionally, the opportunity to vote was extended to 14,000 people, not only a handful of club committees, providing elected delegates with broader legitimacy.
Those that have participated in the pilot project in 2017 have been at the forefront of reforming the election process of the Council of the Swiss Abroad. We thank everyone who was involved back then, in particular the project leader and then OSA Co-Director Sarah Mastantuoni, the canton of Geneva, the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs, and particularly Ernst Steinmann, the then Consul General in Sydney, for their assistance and support.
The momentum gained after the successful direct elections in 2017 was unfortunately lost when Canton Geneva phased out its voting platform in 2019. However, the Australian CSA delegates continued to advocate for direct elections, asking for change from OSA and continuing to conduct direct elections in 2021, albeit without an online voting platform due to funding reasons.
Being elected to the OSA board in 2021 gave me the opportunity to bring the need for electoral reform again to the forefront and to support the establishment of a dedicated working group to advance this effort. Also, in the initial stages, fellow Australian delegate Roland Isler and I worked closely with the working group, sharing our experiences to help build on past learnings.
The working group has done an outstanding and commendable job in driving this important initiative forward and producing results:
In 2025, 13 countries respectively country groups will be electing their delegates in online elections, open to every registered Swiss above the age of 18. Calls for nominations to stand as a candidate have been distributed widely with emails from the Department of Foreign Affairs to registered Swiss in the respective countries, complemented by emails and social media posts of OSA, umbrella organisations, clubs and delegates.
Links & Timeline
2025
Information on the Online Elections 2025 - 13 Countries participating:
https://www.swisscommunity.org/en/elections/zentralisierte-online-direktwahlen
2024
Council approves online elections project with 13 countries / country groups, using the platform of the Fachhochschule Bern:
2023
Council approves establishment of working group to relaunch project for direct online elections:
https://www.swissinfo.ch/ger/wirtschaft/auslandschweizerrat-repraesentativ/48746262
2021
Elections for term 2021 - 2025 are conducted without central online voting platform.
Some countries elect their delegates in open, direct elections (e.g. Australia, Mexico, UK).
2019/2020
Research into various alternative voting tools and discussions with the Departement of Foreign Affairs. No suitable tool at reasonable cost can be found.
Covid Pandemic starts.
2019
Canton of Geneva discontinues it's online voting platform. This not only impacts e-voting for Swiss Abroad in general but also OSA's plans to use online voting for direct elections of the CSA delegates.
2017
Successful first direct online elections in Australia and Mexiko with the voting platform of Canton Geneva:
https://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/politics/swiss-expat-aussie/43297310
ASO Video to summarise pilot project:
2016
Council approves direct elections at meeting in Bern:
*
A shortened version of this article was published in the Swiss Review Issue May 2024 (page 27) https://www.swisscommunity.org/fileadmin/revue/Ausgaben/2024/03/SRV_2403_EN.pdf
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