The Parliament of the Swiss Abroad puts its election manifesto into effect and makes the low turnout of the diaspora an issue. First ideas are there.
This content was published on March 17, 2023
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Swiss politics discovers the importance of the Fifth Switzerland. It forms an electorate that can bring votes. This is particularly true this year, because Switzerland will elect a new parliament in the fall. In theory, the Swiss abroad can decide on up to six of the 200 seats in the National Council.
We have discussed this in depth here.
But one problem remains. Voter turnout is usually low. 800,000 Swiss people live abroad, only a quarter of them are entered in the electoral register of their home canton. And only 25% of those eligible voters eventually exercise their right.
Why don’t more Swiss abroad want to elect and vote? And why is the turnout of registered Swiss abroad so low?
Voter Participation Workshop
Councilor for the Swiss Abroad Antoine Belaieff from Canada and Carmen Trochsler from Australia raised these questions. They invited the representatives of the Swiss abroad who had traveled to a workshop on Thursday.
“How can the electorate of the Swiss diaspora be better activated?” asked the delegates of the Council of the Swiss Abroad, Carmen Trochsler and Antoine Belaieff. A workshop on the occasion of the session of the Swiss Abroad Parliament provided inputs. / Alexandra Jaeggi
The aim was to find a way to encourage more Swiss people abroad to vote.
What ideas do the Swiss Abroad Councilors have? We asked them:
The Swisscommunity wants to discuss the results of the workshop in May with representatives of the cantonal state chancellery. There is also the idea of clarifying whether a mandate for political education of the Fifth Switzerland can be derived from the Swiss constitution.
One has already been realized election websiteexternal linkon which the OSA of the Fifth Switzerland compiles information on the national elections.
Movement in important points
The main business at the session of the Swiss Abroad Parliament was the so-called election manifesto. This reflects the demands of the Swiss diaspora on domestic politics. “The parties, the candidates and the authorities must be aware of the importance of their concerns,” demanded ASO President Filippo Lombardi.
The manifesto has been in existence since November (here is our report on it). However, it has not yet been approved by the entire Council.
In the meantime, there has also been some movement in individual points. Especially when it comes to the top priority of ensuring and promoting the exercise of political rights, which the Swiss community believes can best be taken into account with e-voting. The federal government has only just resumed trials with e-voting with a new system.
We reported about it here.
At the same time, the Federal Council also abandoned an alternative proposal from Parliament. National Councilor Andri Silberschmidt suggested sending the election documents in bundles by diplomatic mail. The Federal Council passed a report on corresponding tests on Friday. It is stated in it according to a statementexternal link“that the voting documents reach the vast majority of Swiss voters abroad in good time”.
hope for progress
But perceptibly little has changed in terms of relations between Switzerland and the EU.
Even after eight visits by Switzerland’s chief negotiator, Livia Leu, to Brussels, the ongoing exploratory talks have not progressed far enough for negotiations to begin. According to the parliamentarians present, a visit to Switzerland by the EU chief negotiator Maroš Šefčovič in Bern, which took place just in the same week, gives reason for hope for progress on this issue.
The stalemate between Bern and Brussels worries the delegates of the Swiss clubs abroad, especially those who live in EU countries. SP Councilor Carlo Sommaruga, who sits on the OSA board, dampened any expectations of a quick breakthrough with reference to the political map of Switzerland.
Social media offensive
With the aim of bundling and standardizing the communication of the Swiss communities abroad, the OSA has set up the “Factor Swiss” website with the support of the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (FDFA). “Today, many members of the Swiss associations abroad are older and have no particular affinity for social networks,” says Maria Luisa Bernini, project manager of “Factor Swiss” at the OSA. Therefore, the organization came up with the idea of providing easily customizable templates to create posts for social networks through this website. By increasing the presence of Swiss clubs on social networks, the declared goal is to conquer a younger audience. But that’s not all. OSA also hopes to strengthen the community of Swiss abroad, “in order to be able to provide them with useful information on the one hand and to better understand their needs on the other,” says Maria Luisa Bernini. A united and numerous community would also have greater political weight.
End of insertion
The Swisscommunity also had to lower its expectations a little in relation to an original demand for better access to voluntary AHV. Existing social security agreements set fixed guidelines here. Carlo Sommaruga warned that there is currently no realistic chance of opening up the already tightly funded AHV to additional desires from the Fifth Switzerland.
We have also reported on this topic here.
Funds have also become tighter at the Swiss foreign department FDFA. The demand for a “consular network that covers the needs of the Swiss abroad” collides with austerity measures, informed Laurent Perriard, the interim director of the consular directorate.
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