Why a redistribution of seats on the Council of the Swiss Abroad is causing a stir

With elections to the Council of the Swiss Abroad currently in full swing, a number of delegates are unhappy about the new distribution of seats. For some countries, because they have lost Swiss expats or Swiss clubs recognised by the Organisation of the Swiss Abroad (OSA), the new legislature means being incorporated into a wider geographical area. As a result, they will lose seats.

This is the case for Monaco, whose seat is currently vacant, as well as Venezuela and Lebanon (which previously formed an electoral constituency with Syria).

“It’s normal, those are the rules,” says Pierino Lardi. At nearly 80, the delegate for Venezuela on the Council of the Swiss Abroad is resigned. The same cannot be said of his colleague Reto Derungs, the delegate for the Dominican Republic. “We have nothing in common with Venezuela. This merger makes no sense,” he says.

Illogical redistribution

During the 2021-2025 legislature, Venezuela held a seat on the Council, as did the Dominican Republic. The two countries are now part of a constituency called South America and the Caribbean, which includes most of the islands in the Caribbean, as well as Venezuela.

According to Derungs, it would have been much more logical to create a constituency with Venezuela and Colombia – the other countries on the South American continent each having between one and three seats – and to keep the Caribbean separate. “What’s more, enough Swiss nationals are registered with the consulate for us to benefit from a seat,” he says.

The OSA justifies the change by pointing to the decline in the number of Swiss nationals in Venezuela and the fact that in the Dominican Republic there are only two clubs, with few members. “I don’t know how the OSA has come to this conclusion. There have been no changes within the clubs,” says Derungs.

For Ariane Rustichelli, who was director of the OSA until mid-April and who oversaw the redistribution process, the new formula “certainly means that all of these countries lose a seat, but it opens up the election to a larger number who would otherwise not have the opportunity to elect a delegate, due to the lack of Swiss nationals and clubs”.

This argument does little to convince Derungs.

Two representatives for the same zone

“I’ve been looking for a successor for years, and now we’ve found him,” says a delighted Pierino Lardi in Venezuela. The country held elections in February before informing the OSA of the name of the new delegate.

A few weeks later, the Dominican Republic also informed the OSA of the election of a new representative – Derungs was not standing for re-election for health reasons. “And the OSA told us that someone had already been elected for Venezuela, even though there are just over 800 Swiss nationals living there!” he says.

Rustichelli admits that there was a “cock-up” on the part of the OSA, which had not understood that the election had only been held in Venezuela, without coordination across the zone. “They should have organised elections together,” she says.

No margin for manoeuvre

The OSA now wants Venezuela and the Dominican Republic to agree on the appointment of a delegate and a deputy.

The two elected delegates have agreed to meet ahead of the constitutive meeting of the Council of the Swiss Abroad in August and to decide on the allocation of roles on the spot. However, the OSA does not agree with this process and is asking the two countries to propose a delegate and alternate delegate.

From Lebanon to Bangladesh

Two other countries are affected by the merger of electoral constituencies are Lebanon and Syria. Having previously enjoyed one seat between them, they are now part of the Central, West and South Asia zone, which stretches from Lebanon to Bangladesh.

“The Swiss living in the Arab world are often businessmen, whereas in Asia they are more likely to be retired people. Their needs are not at all the same,” says Hermes Murrat, the current delegate for Lebanon and Syria. The Lebanese-Swiss dual national wonders about the feasibility of covering such large areas.

“I understand, but I’m still surprised that these delegates seem to have discovered a decision that was taken at the July 2024 meeting of the Council of the Swiss Abroad. What’s more, the distribution of electoral constituencies is reviewed at each new legislature, so there’s nothing new in that,” says Rustichelli.

Messenger service

Rolf Blaser, the current delegate for the region that will include Lebanon and Syria, agrees that the needs of the countries in the area are so different that it’s difficult for just one person to represent them all. “I understand that it’s hard to achieve a fair distribution, but the further away you are from Switzerland, the bigger the problems,” he says.

“If someone from Sri Lanka calls me tomorrow, what can I do apart from tell them to contact the consulate? And if that’s the case, what’s my role other than to act as a messenger?” asks Murrat.

Blaser thinks it’s a shame to further expand a zone that already covers 24 countries. “It doesn’t simplify the delegate’s job,” he says.

All is not lost

When elections are held to the Council, some seats remain vacant. In such cases, the OSA Committee may propose that they be allocated to the alternates of those elected. In this way, a country that had lost a seat could end up being represented on the Council.

This year, all 140 members of the Council of the Swiss Abroad are up for re-election. The elections run until June 2025.

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Edited by Samuel Jaberg. Adapted from French by DeepL/ac,dos