Entitlement to vote in the Cantons of Geneva and Vaud and eligibility for election in the Canton of Vaud
The Permanent Mission of Switzerland has informed CERN that some international civil servants and members of their families are henceforth entitled to vote on commune matters in the Canton of Geneva and are entitled to vote and are eligible for election at commune level in the Canton of Vaud.
For further information, in particular regarding the special procedure to be followed to apply to exercise this entitlement, you are invited to consult the information published, in French only, on the Swiss Mission's website:
http://www.dfae.admin.ch/eda/fr/home/topics/intorg/un/unge/gepri/manvot/manvt1.html (for the Canton of Geneva),
http://www.eda.admin.ch/eda/fr/home/topics/intorg/un/unge/gepri/manvot/manvt2.html (for the Canton of Vaud),
In this regard, you are reminded that:
Under Articles I 3.05 and I 3.07 of the Staff Rules, a member of the personnel 'may take part, outside the Organization, in the public and political life of a State in accordance with the relevant legislation' and 'express his own personal opinion in matters not connected with the functioning of the Organization or its activities', but 'shall refrain from any act or activity which is incompatible with [his] functions' or 'which would be morally or materially prejudicial to the Organization';
Article R I 3.04 the Staff Regulations stipulates that : 'A member of the personnel wishing to engage in a political activity shall give prior written notification to the Director-General. A 'political activity' shall include, amongst other things, the exercise of a public function, the conduct of an election campaign and public participation in the life of a political party.';
The Department of Human Resources regularly publishes information concerning these rights and obligations, in particular prior to election periods.
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