Canton Vaud Grants Swiss Abroad Voting Rights For Senate Elections

2025-11-30 02:09:07

(MENAFN- Swissinfo) Residents of canton Vaud who live abroad will now be able to take part in elections to the Senate, as they already can for the House of Representatives. This content was published on November 30, 2025 - 15:08 2 minutes Keystone-SDA

Français fr Les Vaudois de l'étranger pourront voter pour le Conseil des Etats Original Read more: Les Vaudois de l'étranger pourront voter pour le Conseil des

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In a cantonal vote on Sunday, the“yes” side won by a wide margin, with 63.9% of the vote, while the turnout was around 42%. Some 25,000 Vaud residents living abroad are potentially affected. They will therefore be able to vote for candidates for the Senate; they can also now stand for election themselves. However, if they are elected, they would have to return to live in the canton.

Vaud is now the 14th canton to allow its nationals abroad to take part in elections to the Senate in Bern. All the cantons in French-speaking Switzerland, with the exception of Valais, now allow this.
No to voting rights for foreigners
Another initiative on Sunday, proposed by the citizen movement Ag!ssons and supported by the left, was rejected by 63.6% of voters. This text called for foreigners to be allowed to participate in cantonal elections, as has been the case at the municipal level since 2003, under certain conditions (having lived in the canton for at least three years and in Switzerland for at least ten years).
More More Swiss Abroad Voting rights for foreigners: Why this right is rarely used
This content was published on Oct 3, 2024 Voting without a Swiss passport is possible in some municipalities. A right that is rarely used, however.
Read more: Voting rights for foreigners: Why this right is rarely

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