Political parties reflect how to woo Swiss expat votes

The glass ceiling of the Dome Hall in the Swiss federal parliament building in Bern. © Keystone / Gaetan Bally

Political parties are keen to woo the large expatriate community ahead of October’s federal elections. The idea of creating a “27th canton” for the Swiss abroad is back on the table.

Around 220,000 Swiss citizens living abroad were registered to vote in Switzerland at the end of 2022, according to the Organisation of the Swiss Abroad (OSA). This represents the equivalent of the number of voters in canton Graubünden in southeast Switzerland.

In June Green parliamentarian Nicolas Walder submitted a parliamentary question asking what measures could be taken to ensure better representation of the Swiss abroad in parliament. The Federal Council has not yet given its position.

A mini survey by the Keystone-SDA news agency shows that the left-wing Social Democrats and Greens are open to the idea of creating a special constituency, a “27th canton”, for the Swiss abroad [there are currently 26 cantons across the country] with political representation.

This principle is already known is other countries, including Italy, France and Portugal. However, parliament threw out the plan in 2009.

The centre-right Radicals and the Centre are opposed to the creation of a 27th canton, however. “Applications from the Swiss abroad should be submitted in the cantons,” says Radical spokesperson Floriane Wyss. The party wants to keep the current system and rejects special representation for Swiss cities.

The Swiss People’s Party did not respond to requests from Keystone-SDA.

A working group of the Council of the Swiss Abroad is also considering how the Swiss abroad could be directly represented in parliament in future, OSA Director Ariane Rustichelli told Keystone-SDA. However, the group will not present its findings until after the federal elections.

Rustichelli says the creation of a 27th canton for the Swiss abroad would be a “difficult goal to achieve”, because constitutional changes would be needed.

Today, the Swiss abroad are indirectly represented in federal politics via the Council of the Swiss Abroad, which has 140 members, including several Swiss parliamentarians. This body communicates the concerns of the Swiss abroad to the relevant authorities.

In addition, there is a Swiss abroad parliamentary group, made up of 80 elected members, which defends the interests of Swiss citizens living outside the country. It includes members from all parliamentary groups.