CSA – Seat Allocation

 

The CSA is a world-wide network. The 140-strong Council is comprised of delegates from Swiss expatriates’ associations and communities abroad, 60 seats from within Europe and 60 from the rest of the world, and 20 delegates resident in Switzerland who have connections to the Swiss Abroad.

 

The number of delegates depends on the size of the registered Swiss community. Australia is entitled to four council seats and New Zealand has two seats allocated. Together they represent the region of Oceania, comprised of the English-speaking countries and territories under the diplomatic jurisdiction of the Swiss embassies in Canberra and Wellington.

 

At present, around 25,700 registered Swiss live in Australia and around 7,100 in New Zealand including its territories of Tokelau, Niue and Cook Islands. Around 70 registered Swiss reside in Papua New Guinea and another 100 registered Swiss live on the independent island nations of Kiribati, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Fiji, Vanuatu, Tuvalu, Nauru and Tonga.  

 

 

Delegates are elected every four years by members of OSA-recognised Swiss expatriates’ associations. This modus operandi is under review. In order to increase legitimacy as representatives of their relevant community, the CSA is looking for ways to have future elections conducted in a more democratic manner that involves all registered Swiss residing in that country/region.

 

For the term 2017–2021 elections, Australia was one of only two countries that took part in an e-voting pilot program that gave all eligible Swiss in Australia the opportunity to elect their delegates. Regrettably, the suspension of e-voting in Switzerland – which is viewed as only a temporary set-back – necessitated the use of a less efficient ballot system for the term 2021–2025 elections.

 

Delegates residing in Switzerland are elected by the Council on recommendation by the Executive Board. They are personalities from the political, business and cultural fields who have the necessary expertise and connections to be able to address the concerns of their compatriots abroad and represent them effectively.