Some elected politicians sit far from their electorate

Italy created four geographic areas within the “extraterritorial” constituency: Europe, South America, North and Central America, and the rest of the world. In each of these areas, migrants may vote for candidates who should themselves be members of the diaspora and be residing in the same area. France initiated a similar system for voting by French citizens abroad with the 2012 legislative elections. The elected candidates thus sit in a parliament that is sometimes situated thousands of kilometres from their electoral base. “When you have voted in Australia and the parliamentary sessions are held in Rome, it is difficult to stay in touch with the field, to report regularly to your electorate,” Jean-Michel Lafleur explains. “Migrants often say that, once the candidate has been elected, they don't know what they are doing in Rome. It is the inherent difficulty in such a system, but it does give emigrants direct representation in the home country.”

Organising an election amongst an emigrant population spread out over dozens of countries on five continents raises other polemics. In France, it was the possibility of expatriates voting on the internet that raised many fears. In the case of Italy, every emigrant older than 18 received a ballot at home which he or she could send to his or her consulate. This system of voting by mail has already resulted in fraud. “In 2008, a Roman lawyer fictitiously residing in Ixelles was elected because the Calabrese mafia was able to intercept the ballots sent by post. He is now in prison.” Jean-Michel Lafleur notes.

Diplomatic agreements or good will       

At the moment, there is no standard that obliges host countries to facilitate organising elections. The International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families provides that they have the right to vote and be elected during elections organised by their State of origin but it has yet to be ratified by any of the principal migrant receiving countries. Belgium has also yet to ratify the convention. “Belgium is therefore not obliged to facilitate the organisation of elections but, in fact, cooperation exists in the framework of diplomatic agreements or simply based on good will,” Jean-Michel Lafleur explains. “For example, when Tunisia held its first elections in 2011, a number of voting offices were opened in Belgium so that the Tunisian diaspora could participate (in a school in Liège, community spaces in Namur, etc.)”.

The migrants' exercise of the right to vote in the home country may sometimes be seen in the country of residence as a refusal to integrate. Jean-Michel Lafleur's research has shown the opposite. The deputy director of CEDEM stresses that political participation of emigrants in their home countries means that they are interested in politics in general. Often, this interest creates an involvement in the politics of the country of residence. “I carried out a survey amongst Bolivian migrants in Argentina, the United States, Spain and Brazil. Those who participate in external voting during the Bolivian elections have a higher interest in politics than the average citizen, whether we are talking about home country or host country politics. Political participation is a form of capital, when migrants vote in their country of origin, they also develop skills that are useful in their country of residence.”