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Country Year Election type Voting method First year Comments
Afghanistan 2019 No external voting No external voting 2004 Although the election law theoretically permits external voting (Article 5), the website of the election commission does not provide any information about the possibility of voting from abroad.
Albania 2021 No external voting No external voting Not applicable Amendments to the Electoral Code (Law No. 101/2020, dated 23 July 2020) allowed the possibility for voting from abroad. However, no decision in this regard was formally taken by the CEC. Thus, out-of-country voting was not implemented during Parliamentary Elections of 25 April 2021.
Algeria 2012 Presidential
Legislative
Referendums		 Personal
Proxy		 1976 The amendments to the Electoral Law up to 2021 do not introduce changes to the provisions for external voting. Data has been updated in June 2021.
Andorra 2014 Legislative Postal 2015 The 2014 amendments to the Electoral Law provided for the first time the possibility of postal voting for non-resident citizens staying abroad. Data has been updated in April 2019.
Angola 2022 Presidential
Legislative		 Personal 2022 Angola implemented out-of-country voting for the first time during 2022 General Elections.
Anguilla 2020 No external voting No external voting Not applicable Electoral legislation does not provide for out of country voting. Data has been updated in 2020, based on the elections held in 2020. 
Antigua and Barbuda 2023 No external voting No external voting Not applicable Data has been updated in January 2023
Argentina 2021 Presidential
Legislative		 Personal 1991 Postal voting from abroad has been abandoned in 2021.
Armenia 2016 Legislative
Referendums		 e-voting 2012 After the Constitutional amendment of 2015 no direct elections are held to elect the President. The electoral law was last amended in 2021, but no change has been introduced to external voting regulations. Those who can vote from abroad include diplomatic and military staff abroad and their family members, and also the representatives of corporations registered in Armenia and their family members. Ordinary citizens cannot vote from abroad.
Aruba 2021 No external voting No external voting Not applicable Out of country voting was not practiced during 2021 Elections.
Australia 1990 Legislative
Sub-national
Referendums		 Personal
Postal		 1949 Personal voting was introduced since 1990. [Data has been reviewed in November 2019]
Austria 1990 Presidential
Legislative
Referendums
European Parliamentary elections 		Postal 1990 In Austria, external voting was introduced in 1990. Since 1990, no change has been introduced to external voting regulations. Data was updated in October 2022.
Azerbaijan 2003 Presidential
Referendums		 Personal 2000 Data has been updated in February 2020, based on the Electoral Code last amended in 01.02.2019.
Bahamas 2011 Legislative Personal 2012 The Parliamentary Elections (Amendment) Act 2011 grants the possibility of voting from abroad, but only to certain people: students and public officers working outside Bahamas and their spouses, on the condition that they have a valid address in a constituency in Bahamas. Those whose official address is outside Bahamas cannot register and vote overseas. [Data has been updated in August 2021]
Bahrain 2002 Legislative
Referendums		 Personal
e-voting		 2010 The amendments to the Law by decree No. 14 for 2002 Exercising of Political Rights up to 2018 did not change voting from abroad provisions. Data has been updated in October 2022.
Bangladesh 1972 Legislative Postal No data International IDEA's initial research in 2007 revealed that in Bangladesh external voting was limited only to diplomatic staff or to those employed by the government. As of April 2018, there seems no change in this regard, even though some legislative reforms have been carried out in 2009 and 2013 on the subject matter. See Source and Comments sections for more details.
Barbados 1971 Legislative Personal No data Voting from abroad is restricted only to public officers serving overseas (data has been updated in January 2022).
Belarus 2000 Presidential
Legislative
Referendums		 Personal 2004 Update of the data has been made in August 2020.
Belgium 1998 Legislative
European Parliamentary elections 		Personal
Postal
Proxy		 1998 The first external voting was administered in 1998, the amendments in 2002 did not change the method of voting, they made only some clarification to make the system more transparent (update was conducted in June 2019).
Belize 1998 Legislative
Referendums		 Proxy No data The law was enacted in 1978, but the paragraph providing for proxy voting was included in the amendments done in 1998 (data has been updated in December 2020). Voting from abroad is restricted to a set of citizens who continue to have a permanent and continuous residence in Belize.
Benin 2021 Presidential Personal
Proxy		 No data The latest amended version of the Electoral Code (2019) does not contain any changes related to out of country voting. Data has been updated in May 2021.
Bermuda 2020 No external voting No external voting Not applicable Parliamentary Election Act 1978 (as amended in 2020) does not contain provisions allowing out of country voting. Data has been updated in October 2020.
Bhutan 2008 Legislative
Referendums		 Postal
e-voting		 2008 In 2008 and 2013 elections only postal voting was used for voting from abroad. See sources for more information. (Data has been updated in January 2018.)
Bolivia 2009 Presidential
Referendums
Recall		 Personal 2009 Voting from abroad was included in the Transient Electoral Regime Law finally passed by the Congress and issued on April 2009. In 2010, the external voting regulations were included in the Ley del Régimen Electoral N. 026. Amendments to the Law 026 made in 2013, 2017 and 2019 did not affect external voting regulations. Data has been updated in May 2020.
Bosnia and Herzegovina 2001 Presidential
Legislative
Sub-national		 Personal
Postal		 1996 Data was updated in 2017 using the last amendment to the Electoral Law made in 2016.
Botswana 1997 Legislative Personal 1997 There is no change in the external voting regulations of the country since 1997. Most recent elections were administered in October 2019.
Brazil 1965 Presidential Personal
e-voting		 1989 Data has been updated in October 2022.
Brunei Darussalam 2018 No provisions for direct elections No provisions for direct elections Not applicable Data has been updated in April 2018.
Bulgaria 2021 Presidential
Legislative
European Parliamentary elections 		Personal
e-voting		 1990 Electronic voting machines have been used for out-of-country voting during the 2021 Parliamentary Elections.
Burkina Faso 2020 Presidential
Referendums		 Personal 2020 The first out of county voting was conducted during 2020 General Elections.
Burundi 2019 Presidential
Legislative
Referendums		 Personal 2010 Data has been updated in May 2020, based on the Electoral Code of 20 May 2019.
Cabo Verde 1999 Presidential
Legislative		 Personal 1991 Data has been updated in May 2021.
Cambodia 2018 No external voting No external voting 1993 There are still debates in Cambodia about allowing out of country voting (see Source). However, as of April 2018 the NEC website does not contain any information about the adoption of specific regulations or amendments in the law in this regard.
Cameroon 2011 Presidential
Referendums		 Personal 2011 No previous regulation was found addressing external voting, except Law No 2011/013. Thus, it is assumed the external voting was first allowed in Cameroon in 2011. (Data has been updated in February 2020)
Canada 2019 Legislative
Referendums		 Postal 1945 On January 11, 2019, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled that Canadians living abroad can vote in federal elections, regardless of how long they have been living abroad (data has been checked in January 2022).
Cayman Islands 2004 Legislative Postal No data The year of 2004 has been assigned because the earlier revisions of the law providing for postal voting from abroad cannot be found online. Data has been updated in April 2021, based on the revised version of the Elections Act (2021).
Central African Republic 2009 Presidential
Referendums		 Personal No data Data has been updated in December 2020, based on the 2019 version of the Electoral Code (Loi n°19‐0011 du 20 août 2019).
Chad 2019 Presidential
Legislative
Referendums		 Personal 2001 The text of the Electoral Code of 2019 allows voters abroad to cast their vote in legislative elections too (data has been updated in April 2021). Due to COVID-19 restrictions, diaspora could not participate in 2021 Presidential Elections.
Chile 2015 Presidential
Referendums		 Personal 2017 Constitutional amendment of 2015 allowed voting for the first time for Chilean citizens residing abroad. The first election that this new regulation was practiced was the Presidential Elections held in November 2017. (Data has been reviewed in December 2021)
China 2018 No provisions for direct elections No provisions for direct elections Not applicable
Colombia 1991 Presidential
Legislative
Senate		 Personal 1994 for Senate, 2002 for Legislative Elections Data has been updated in March 2022 using the most recent electoral legislation.
Comoros 2010 Presidential
Referendums		 Personal 2016 Law providing for external voting (see sources) was enacted in 2010. Data has been updated in January 2018.
Congo, Democratic Republic of 2015 No external voting No external voting Not applicable Article 7 of the Law No. 15/001 of 12 February 2015 does not contain anymore the fifth sub-section in the 2006 version of the same law (see data for 2006), which prohibited out of country voting. The new Article 5 of the law above allows out of country voting for Presidential elections. However, despite these provisions in the law, out of country voting was not allowed in the 30 December 2018 General Elections. (Research was conducted in January 2019)
Cook Islands 2004 Legislative Postal 1983 The reserved seat for external voters was abolished in 2004. Data has been updated in October 2022.
Costa Rica 2022 Presidential
Referendums		 Personal 2014 Data has been updated in February 2022.
Cote d'Ivoire 2000 Presidential Personal 1995 Since the 2000 version of the Electoral Code and up to its amendment in 2020, the provisions for out of country voting have not been changed. Even though the Electoral Code covers all the types of elections (Presidential, Legislative, and sub-national elections), it explicitly allows external voting only for Presidential elections (Article 3.2). The update was done in 5 November 2020.
Croatia 2003 Presidential
Legislative
European Parliamentary elections 		Personal 1992 Initial research was conducted in 2012. Data has been updated in December 2019.
Cuba 2012 No external voting No external voting Not applicable Research was conducted in 2012. No change has been made since then to the external voting regulations. Data has been updated in January 2018.
Cyprus 2011 Presidential
Legislative
European Parliamentary elections 		Personal 2011 It was not possible to find the text of the amended version of the Elections Law that provides for voting from abroad. Therefore, we have taken the date of 2011 parliamentary elections, in which external voting was first practiced, as a starting date for external voting in Cyprus. No major change in out-of-country voting regulations was made as of February 2023. In the recent Legislative (2021) and Presidential (2023) elections, out-of-country voting was administered in several countries.
Cyprus (North) 2022 No external voting No external voting Not applicable No reports of overseas voting have been found in regards to the most recent elections in 2022.
Czech Republic 2013 Presidential
Legislative		 Personal 2002 for Legislative and 2013 Presidential elections The first direct Presidential Elections in Czech Republic took place in 2013, and external voting was allowed. Data has been updated in 2023.
Denmark 2007 Legislative
Referendums
European Parliamentary elections 		Personal 1980 Original research was conducted in 2007. However, out of country voting has developed in Denmark much earlier - since at least 1970s. See sources for further information about developments in Denmark regarding external voting regulations. (Data has been updated in November 2021)
Djibouti 1992 Presidential
Legislative
Referendums		 Personal No data Data has been updated in May 2021. It is assumed the Electoral Code was last amended in 2012, since no later versions of the law can be found online. The later amendments (see source) do not affect external voting regulations that were set in the original texts of the law in 1992.
Dominica 2022 No external voting No external voting Not applicable Out of country voting was still not available during 2022 Parliamentary Elections. Research was conducted in January 2023.
Dominican Republic 2016 Presidential
Legislative		 Personal 2004 In 2016 and 2020 elections, Dominicans abroad elected seven representatives to the Lower Chamber (research was conducted in 2016 and 2020)
Ecuador 2020 Presidential
Legislative
Andean Parliamentary elections 		Personal 2006 Citizens abroad also elect six representatives to the National Assembly and can request referendums. Postal voting, electronic voting and internet voting were piloted in several locations during the 2021 General Elections. (Data has been updated in February 2021)
Egypt 2020 Presidential
Referendums
Senate Elections		 Personal
Postal		 2012 In 2020, voter abroad could vote for the first for the Senate Elections using postal voting.
El Salvador 2013 Presidential Postal 2014 The law allowing external voting has been enacted in early 2013, allowing voting from abroad for presidential elections in 2014. For the Presidential Elections of 2019, in total 5,948 citizens were registered from abroad, out of 348,305 Salvadoran people living abroad. (Data has been updated in January 2022)
Equatorial Guinea 2022 Presidential
Legislative		 Personal No data Data has been updated in December 2022.
Eritrea 2018 No provisions for direct elections No provisions for direct elections Not applicable As of April 2018, country still does not hold direct national elections.
Estonia 2023 Legislative
Referendums
European Parliamentary elections 		Personal
Postal
e-voting		 1992 Data has been updated in March 2023, based on the legislation last amended in 2021 (see Sources).
Eswatini 2012 No external voting No external voting Not applicable Data has been updated in January 2018.
Ethiopia 2021 No external voting No external voting Not applicable Out of country voting was still not available for the 2021 elections. 
Falkland Islands (Malvinas) 1988 Legislative
Referendums		 Postal
Proxy		 No data External voting applies only to those who reside in the territory of the United Kingdom (data has been updated in November 2021).
Fiji 2022 Legislative Postal No data Data has been updated in 2022 using the latest amendment (No 9 of 2021) made to the Electoral Decree of 2014.
Finland 2017 Presidential
Legislative
European Parliamentary elections 		Personal
Postal		 1958 Postal voting from abroad was introduced in 2017. Data has been updated in October 2021.  
France 2020 Presidential
Legislative
Referendums
European Parliamentary elections
Some seats in the Senate		 Personal
Proxy
e-voting		 1926 In 2020, France re-introduced internet voting for overseas voters. However, it will be used only for legislative and consular elections and also elections of French overseas advisers. Data has been updated in April 2022.
Gabon 1998 Presidential
Referendums		 Personal
Proxy		 No data Data has been updated in February 2018. No changes have been found in the legislation providing for external voting practices. It seems the last amendment to the electoral law was made in 2008.
Gambia 2022 No external voting No external voting Not applicable Out-of-country voting was not implemented in the 2021 Presidential Elections and 2022 Legislative Elections.
Georgia 2020 Presidential
Legislative
Referendums		 Personal 1995 The amendments (up to 2020) to the Electoral Code do not alter provisions for external voting, except minor changes to the wording defining the limits of voters in electoral precincts abroad (see sources).
Germany 1985 Legislative
European Parliamentary elections 		Postal 1949 By amendment of the Federal Elections Act in 1985, the voting from abroad was extended considerably through the introduction of the model of combination. See comments for more information. (Data has been updated in 2021)
Ghana 2020 Presidential
Legislative		 Personal No data As of 2020, voting from abroad has not still been implemented in Ghana. African Union report notes that the legal provision for diaspora voting was not enforced during 2020 elections due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Gibraltar 1950 Legislative Postal 1969 Data has been updated in December 2019.
Greece 2014 European Parliamentary elections Personal 2014 The Constitution (Art. 51) guarantees the right to vote in parliamentary elections for persons living outside the country but there are no laws implementing this provision. Currently Greek citizens abroad can vote only in EU Parliamentary elections. Data has been update in July 2019.
Grenada 2022 No external voting No external voting Not applicable As of June 2022, the electoral legislation of the country does not contain provisions for external voting. External voting has not been implemented during 2022 Elections.
Guatemala 2016 Presidential Personal 2019 New regulation (Decreto Número 26-2016) officially allows overseas voting in Guatemala for the election of the President and Vice-President. For the first time in the country’s history, Guatemalans who reside abroad were allowed to vote in the 2019 Presidential Elections.
Guernsey 1972 Legislative Postal No data Guernsey allows external voting only for a provisional stay abroad. Data has been updated in October 2020.
Guinea 2007 Presidential
Legislative		 Personal 1993 Data has been updated in March 2020.
Guinea-Bissau 2009 Presidential
Legislative		 Personal No data In 2009, the Electoral Law was amended to allow external voting for Presidential Elections. (Data has been updated in April 2018.)
Guyana 1964 Legislative Personal 1993 External voting is limited only to ambassadors, members of the staff of embassies, and their family members. Data has been updated in March 2020.
Haiti 2017 No external voting No external voting Not applicable Haiti's electoral legislation does not provide for any form of out of country voting.
Holy See (Vatican City State) 2018 No provisions for direct elections No provisions for direct elections Not applicable
Honduras 2004 Presidential Personal 2001 Amendments to the Electoral Law up to 2016 did not change voting from abroad regulations. Update has been done in December 2021.
Hungary 2013 Legislative
Referendums
European Parliamentary elections 		Personal
Postal		 2004 Hungary has amended the Electoral Procedures law in 2013 and introduced postal voting. Data has been reviewed and updated in April 2022.
Iceland 2000 Presidential
Legislative
Sub-national
Referendums		 Personal 1949 Data has been updated in July 2020.
India 1961 Legislative Postal 2004 Data has been updated in June 2019.
Indonesia 1955 Presidential
Legislative		 Personal
Postal		 1955 For the 2019 election, the KPU has introduced measures allowing out-of-country voters to vote via early voting, voting by post, drop boxes and installed polling stations in popular places frequented by Indonesians (update has been made in January 2021).
Iran, Islamic Republic of 1985 Presidential
Sub-national
Referendums		 Personal 1980 Data has been updated in February 2020.
Iraq 2008 Legislative Personal 2005 According to some news reports, out-of-country voting was not conducted during October 2021 Elections. Data has been updated in October 2021.
Ireland 1923 Presidential
Legislative
Sub-national
Referendums		 Postal 1992 There were many changes in the relevant acts since 1923, but the method of voting remained all times the same (postal) in each type of election (legislative, presidential, sub-national and referendums). It should be noted that public officials employed at diplomatic missions and members of the armed forces are the only categories of electors permitted to vote while abroad. Ordinary Irish citizens cannot vote from abroad. [Data has been updated in May 2020.]
Isle of Man 2020 Legislative
Sub-national		 Postal
Proxy		 1976 Data has been updated in August 2021.
Israel 1969 Legislative Personal No data Civil servants, including soldiers, employees of the Jewish Agency, employees of the Jewish National Fund (KKL), employees of Keren HaYesod and employees of the World Zionist Organization are entitled to vote in Israeli Consulates and Representative Offices outside of Israel. Data has been updated in October 2022.
Italy 2002 Legislative
Referendums
European Parliamentary elections
Some seats in the Senate		 Postal 2003 Until 2001 Italians had to return to country in order to be able to vote. Italians abroad also elect 8 members to the Parliament and 4 members to the Senate. Data has been updated in September 2022.
Jamaica 2020 No external voting No external voting Not applicable No reference to external voting has been found in the electoral legislation of Jamaica. Data has been updated in September 2020.
Japan 1998 Legislative Personal
Postal		 2002 Amendment to the Public Offices Election Act in 1998, allowed participation of overseas voters in proportional representation component of elections to the House of Representatives (Japan has parallel electoral system consisting of proportional and single member districts). Further amendment to the law in 2006, eventually allowed Japanese overseas voters to vote in the district elections as well.
Jersey 2002 Legislative Postal No data Data has been updated in April 2018.
Jordan 2020 No external voting No external voting Not applicable Law on the Election of the House of Representatives (Law No 6 of 2016) still does not provide for external voting.
Kazakhstan 1995 Presidential
Legislative
Sub-national		 Personal 1994 Since the enactment of the electoral law in 1995, there has been no change in the regulations related to voting from abroad. (Data has been updated in January 2021).
Kenya 2022 Presidential
Referendums		 Personal 2013 Kenyans living in 12 countries were able to vote during 2022 General Elections. A total of 10,444 voters abroad were registered for 2022 elections, compared to just 4,223 in the 2017 elections.
Kiribati 2020 No external voting No external voting Not applicable Data has been updated in April 2020.
Korea, Dem. People's Republic of 2019 No external voting No external voting Not applicable Data has been updated in April 2019.
Korea, Republic of 2009 Presidential
Legislative
Referendums		 Personal 2012 External voting was introduced in 2009 with relevant amendments to the Public Official Election Act (data has been updated in March 2022 based on the latest amendments made to the Public Official Election Act).
Kosovo 2008 Legislative Postal No data Data was updated in January 2021
Kuwait 2020 No external voting No external voting Not applicable There were some news in the media about the possible regulations for introducing overseas voting (see sources). However, there are no reports about the implementation of overseas voting in the recent elections in 2020.
Kyrgyzstan 2020 Presidential
Legislative
Referendums		 Personal 2000 Initial research was conducted in 2012. No change in regulations concerning external voting was made since 2012. Data has been updated in October 2020.
Lao People's Dem. Republic 2006 Legislative Personal 2006 Voters outside the country can vote only in capitals of some countries. Electoral Law does not contain provision for external voting. Findings are based on media reports. (Data has been updated in Feb 2021).
Latvia 2004 Legislative
Referendums
European Parliamentary elections 		Personal
Postal		 1992 Law on Elections to the European Parliament, which allows external voting for EU Parliamentary elections, was adopted in 2004. (Data has been updated in 2017)
Lebanon 2008 Legislative Personal 2018 The reform of electoral law in 2008 allowed external voting. External voting has been implemented for the first time in 2018 elections. (Data has been updated in May 2022)
Lesotho 1992 Legislative Personal No data External voting is allowed only for public officers employed in the service of the Government of Lesotho in another country, and their dependents. Data has been updated in October 2022 using the National Assembly Electoral Act (2011) which has not been amended by the 2022 elections.
Liberia 2004 No external voting No external voting No data It seems out of country voting was abandoned in 2004. See Article 5.5 of the Electoral Law in the Source. Data has been updated in February 2018 based on the last amendment to the Electoral Law made in 2014.
Libya 2014 Legislative Personal 2012 On 21 and 22 June 2014, 3,816 voters cast their ballots for the Council of Representatives (CoR) election in 22 cities disseminated across the 13 countries which hosted the Libyan out of country voting. Manchester and London (UK) witnessed the highest turnout. There were a total of 10,087 voters registered abroad for the CoR election.
Liechtenstein 1973 Legislative
Sub-national
Referendums		 Postal 2004 Data has been updated in February 2021
Lithuania 2003 Presidential
Legislative
Referendums
European Parliamentary elections 		Personal
Postal
e-voting		 1992 It should be noted that even though electoral legislation provides for internet voting from abroad, it has not been de facto implemented. Data has been updated in December 2021
Luxembourg 2005 Legislative
Sub-national
Referendums
European Parliamentary elections 		Postal 1984 External voting in referendums were permited by law in 2005. Data has been updated in April 2018.
Madagascar 2018 No external voting No external voting Not applicable No change has happened to the external voting regulations. “Organic Law No 2018-008 Relating to the General System of Elections and Referendums” does not provide for external voting. Data has been updated in November 2018.
Malawi 2020 No external voting No external voting Not applicable External voting was still not allowed in 2020 Presidential Elections.
Malaysia 2022 Legislative
Sub-national		 Postal No data There were some changes in out-of-country postal voting regulations during 2022 Elections. See Sources for specific details.
Maldives 2019 Presidential
Legislative		 Personal 2008 Data has been updated in April 2019 using the most recent sources.
Mali 2006 Presidential
Legislative
Referendums		 Personal
Proxy		 1992 Data has been updated in 30 March 2020 based on the 21 May 2013 amendment to the Electoral Code of 06-044 / 4 September 2006.
Malta 2022 No external voting No external voting Not applicable Since International IDEA's initial research in 2007 till 2022 there has been no change in Maltese regulations in regards to voting from abroad.
Marshall Islands 2019 No external voting No external voting 1980 Public Law 2016-28 cancelled postal voting system that had been in place for four decades. The Law was declared unconstitutional by Supreme Court in October but not in time for the voting system to be restored for the November 2019 Elections. In the future elections, the postal voting will possibly be restored. Data has been updated in January 2020.
Mauritania 2009 Presidential
Legislative
Referendums		 Personal 2009 Voting from abroad was first introduced with the enactment of the "Loi organique no 2009 - 022 du 02 avril 2009". As of 2019 Presidential Elections, there have been no changes in out of country regulations.
Mauritius 1976 Legislative Proxy No data Data has been updated in December 2019.
Mexico 2014 Presidential
Sub-national
Referendums
Senate		 Postal
e-voting		 2006 (see also comments in regards to introduction of e-voting) Voting from abroad can also be exerted for the election of Governors at state level if the Local Constitution allows it. Internet for voting from abroad was first used, but solely for local elections in Mexico City in 2012. Another change that happened in 2014 is that the new law was enacted on referendums, which also provide for voting from abroad. [Data has been updated in June 2021]
Micronesia, Federated States of 2006 Legislative
Sub-national
Referendums		 Personal
Postal		 No data Data has been reviewed in March 2021.
Moldova, Republic of 1997 Presidential
Legislative
Referendums		 Personal 1993 The original research was conducted for the International IDEA’s Voting from Abroad Handbook (2007). The latest update has been done in July 2021, based on the last amendment to the Electoral Code made on 20.07.2020.
Monaco 2006 Legislative Proxy 2007 Data has been updated in 2023
Mongolia 2016 Presidential Personal 2012 In 2016, voting from abroad was repealed for parliamentary elections; it was still available for presidential elections held in 2017. Voting from abroad was not allowed for parliamentary elections held in 2020 too. Data has been updated in July 2020.
Montenegro 2023 No external voting No external voting Not applicable Voters residing abroad can only vote at the polling station in the area of their last place of residence in the territory of Montenegro, before going abroad. Data has been updated in March 2023.
Montserrat 2000 Legislative Not specifed No data The law mentions availability of external voting only for those who study abroad (data has been updated in September 2019).
Morocco 2011 Legislative Proxy 2011 The first official report on voting from abroad was found in the EOM report based on 2011 elections (see sources). The relevant legislation providing for external voting was not found. Data has been updated in January 2018.
Mozambique 2004 Presidential
Legislative		 Personal 2004 No changes have been introduced in external voting since 2004. Data has been updated in September 2019.
Myanmar 2010 Legislative
Referendums		 Personal 2008 Update was conducted in November 2020 based on materials published on the UEC website concerning 2020 elections.
Namibia 2019 Presidential
Legislative		 e-voting 1994 During 2019 General Elections voters from abroad used EMVs to cast their vote. Data has been updated in December 2019.
Nauru 2004 Legislative
Referendums		 Proxy 2004 The initial legal basis for proxy voting appeared in Electoral Act 1965, however the Electoral (Proxy Voting) Regulations was enacted in 2004. Therefore we put the starting year as 2004. It should be noted also that proxy voting was extended to referendums only in 2010 by Referendum Procedures (Proxy Voting) Regulations 2010. Data was updated in August 2022.
Nepal 2022 No external voting No external voting Not applicable Data has been updated in January 2023.
Netherlands 1989 Legislative
European Parliamentary elections 		Postal
Proxy		 1989 In 2004 there was an experiment with internet voting for the European Elections for Dutch citizens living abroad. However, e-voting was abandoned for all elections in Netherlands in 2007. (Data has been reviewed in May 2021)
Netherlands Antilles 2007 No external voting No external voting Not applicable The country has been dissolved in 2010
New Zealand 2000 Legislative
Sub-national
Referendums		 Personal
Postal
e-voting
Fax		 No data Regulations for posting voting in referendums was enacted in 2000. Data has been reviewed in October 2020.
Nicaragua 2021 Presidential
Legislative
Central American Parliament		 Not yet decided Not yet applied The consolidated Electoral Law (published 6 May 2021), Article 109, allows external voting for Presidential, Legislative and Central American Parliament Elections. However, this provision has not been implemented during the latest 2021 General Elections.
Niger 2020 Presidential
Legislative
Referendums		 Personal No data It should be noted that out of country voting was not conducted during 2020 elections, due to COVID-19 pandemic. [Data has been updated in January 2021]
Nigeria 2023 No external voting No external voting Not applicable There are many debates and discussions in the country about the introduction of external voting for Diaspora. However, no change has occurred in this regards since many years. According to one estimate, there are more than 15 million people living outside the country.
Niue 2020 No external voting No external voting Not applicable Data has been updated in June 2020. The Niue Assembly Act 1966 is available in the Niue government website, which indicates the currency of the law.
North Macedonia, Republic of 2008 Presidential
Legislative		 Personal 2009 Electoral Code of 2006 contains provisions only for registration of voters residing abroad, but it does not provide clear regulations for voting from abroad. Later amendments to the Electoral Code, especially the version of 2011 that is available online, contains very clear provisions in regards to voting from abroad. A paper by Ana Mijovska (see sources) states that the 2008 amendment to the Electoral Code allowed external voting for the first time. The copy of this amendment cannot be found online. However, the Venice Commission's opinion on the Election Code of 2008 clearly states that "as of 1 September 2009, when the new provisions in the Code will enter into force, voters who are temporarily abroad will be able to register to vote in Diplomatic Consular Offices". Later amendments to the Code up until 2020 did not introduce any major changes to overseas voting practices. Data has been updated in June 2020.
Norway 2002 Legislative
Sub-national		 Personal
Postal		 1921 Original research was conducted in 2007, data has been updated in May 2022.
Oman 2019 Legislative e-voting No data Oman introduced e-voting for voters from abroad in 2019 Shura Council Elections.
Pakistan 2018 Legislative
Sub-national		 e-voting 2018 Internet voting was first implemented on 14 October, 2018 for bye-elections in 37 constituencies.
Palau 1981 Presidential
Legislative
Sub-national
Referendums		 Personal
Postal		 1981 Data has been updated in November 2020.
Panama 2019 Presidential Personal
e-voting		 2009 for postal; 2014 for internet Electoral Tribunal provided the 7,674 Panamanians registered to vote abroad the option to cast their vote via the internet from April 23-May 2. Besides, voters who were abroad on the day of elections were provided with option to cast early voting from March 8-April 8. (Data has been updated in May 2019).
Papua New Guinea 1997 Legislative Postal 1997 Even though Electoral Law provides for postal voting from abroad, according to a local expert, ordinary voters cannot vote from abroad (data has been updated in June 2022).
Paraguay 2013 Presidential
Senatorial
Mercosur		 Personal 2013 2011 amendment to the Constitution made out of country voting available for Paraguayans living abroad. 21,982 Paraguayans were registered abroad to be eligible to vote in the General Election of 2013.
Peru 1993 Presidential
Legislative
Referendums		 Personal 1980 Data has been updated in February 2020.
Philippines 2013 Presidential
Legislative
Referendums
Senate		 Personal
Postal		 2004 The Act No. 9189 (The Overseas Absentee Voting Act of 13 February 2003) was amended by Republic Act No. 10590 27 May 2013 to include provisions to allow voting from abroad for referendums and plebiscites. (Data has been updated in May 2022).
Pitcairn Islands 2008 Legislative Proxy 2001 Data has been updated in April 2018, using the 2017 version of the Local Government Ordinance, which provides for election rules.
Poland 2020 Presidential
Legislative
Referendums
European Parliamentary elections
The Senate		 Personal
Postal		 1990 Act of June 2, 2020 introduced postal voting for voters from abroad.
Portugal 1997 Presidential
Legislative
Referendums
European Parliamentary elections 		Personal
Postal		 1975 The year 1997 marks a major change in the process of external voting in Portugal. The constitution was amended to allow Portuguese citizens resident abroad to vote in presidential elections and national referendums. 2001 marks the first year of external voting allowed for Presidential elections. Data has been updated in January 2022 based on the latest amendments made to relevant legislation providing for external voting.
Qatar 2021 No external voting No external voting Not applicable Qatar held the first Shura Council Elections in October 2021. There were no reports of out-of-country voting. The text of the electoral law cannot be found.
Republic of The Congo (Brazzaville) 2001 No external voting No external voting No data Only registration of voters in foreign embassies and consulates is defined in the law, and there are no provisions for diaspora voting in foreign countries. Some media articles report about the battle for the right to vote of the Congolese diaspora. Data has been updated in July 2022.
Romania 2015 Presidential
Legislative
Referendums
European Parliamentary elections
Senate		 Personal
Postal		 1990 In 2015, Romania has introduced postal voting for citizens residing abroad. (Data has been updated in December 2019)
Russian Federation 2003 Presidential
Legislative
Sub-national
Referendums		 Personal No data Data last updated in August 2021
Rwanda 2010 Presidential
Legislative
Referendums		 Personal 2003 Some laws back to 2003 also provide for external voting (Organic law no 17/2003 of 07/07/2003). Data has been updated in February 2018.
Saint Helena 2009 Legislative Proxy No data The earliest legal provision for voting from abroad was located in the Elections Ordinance 2009. Data has been updated in November 2021 using the latest revised editions of the laws.
Saint Kitts and Nevis 2022 No external voting No external voting Not applicable Overseas voters may be registered to vote in SKN if they maintain a domicile there, but they must travel back to SKN to vote in person. Data has been updated in August 2022.
Saint Lucia 2021 No external voting No external voting Not applicable Research was conducted in November 2021.
Saint Vincent and The Grenadines 2020 No external voting No external voting Not applicable Voters residing abroad have to come back to the island in order to be able to vote. Data has been updated in December 2020.
Samoa 2021 No external voting No external voting Not applicable Electoral Act 2019 does not allow out of country voting.
San Marino 2019 No external voting No external voting Not applicable Voters who reside abroad have to travel to San Marino in order to cast their vote in person. The only change in external voting regulations was the amendment made to the Electoral Law in 2016 re-introducing the right of voters from abroad to cast a preferential vote. Before this amendment, voters could only vote for a candidate list and not for their preferred candidates. Data has been updated in December 2019.
Sao Tome and Principe 1990 Presidential
Legislative		 Personal No data The amendments to the Electoral Law up to 2021 did not introduce any changes to external voting regulations. (Data updated in September 2022).
Saudi Arabia 2018 No provisions for direct elections No provisions for direct elections Not applicable Data has been updated in April 2018.
Senegal 2017 Presidential
Legislative
Referendums		 Personal 1993 Starting from 2017, Diaspora can elect 15 members to the Parliament. See Article 146 of the Electoral Code in the Source section for the list of foreign districts. Data has been updated in July 2019.
Serbia 2021 Presidential
Legislative
Referendums		 Personal No data 2021 version of the Law on the Referendum and the People’s Initiative provides for out-of-country voting.
Seychelles 1993 No external voting No external voting Not applicable Constitution (1993, consolidated to 1 June 2020) clearly outlaws external voting. Data has been updated in October 2020.
Sierra Leone 2012 No external voting No external voting Not applicable The 2012 law mentions only registration of voters outside of the country, but no regulations exist at the moment regarding their actual voting from abroad. No amendment to the 2012 law has been made as of February 2018.
Singapore 2006 Presidential
Legislative		 Personal 2006 No changes have been introduced to external voting procedures since the initial research in 2006 (data has been updated in July 2020).
Slovakia 2004 Legislative
Sub-national
Referendums		 Postal No data Data has been updated in February 2020
Slovenia 1992 Presidential
Legislative
Referendums
European Parliamentary elections 		Personal
Postal		 1992 Data has been updated in April 2022 using the latest available electoral legislation.
Solomon Islands 2019 No external voting No external voting Not applicable Data has been updated in April 2019 using the most recent legislation.
Somalia 2022 No provisions for direct elections No provisions for direct elections Not applicable The Constitution of 2012 provides for universal suffrage, direct elections of the members of the two chambers of parliament. However, specific laws on elections as foreseen by the Provisional Constitution (art. 47) have not been developed yet. Data has been updated in January 2022.
South Africa 1998 Legislative Personal 1994 Data has been updated in May 2019.
South Sudan 2012 No external voting No external voting 2011 Election Act of 2012 provides only for registration of voters residing abroad. No regulations have been found regarding the actual out of country voting of South Sudanese nationals. Data has been updated in February 2018.
Spain 2019 Legislative
Sub-national
Referendums
European Parliamentary elections 		Personal
Postal		 1985 Data has been updated in July 2019
Sri Lanka 2020 No external voting No external voting Not applicable Sri Lankans cannot vote from abroad. However, debates are ongoing about allowing external voting for country's migrant population which estimated to be about 2 million. Data has been updated in May 2020.
State of Palestine 2007 No external voting No external voting Not applicable No change was introduced in regards to out of country voting since 2007. Data has been updated in April 2018.
Sudan 2008 Presidential
Referendums		 Personal 1986 Data has been updated in January 2018.
Suriname 2020 No external voting No external voting Not applicable Electoral Code does not provide for any means to vote from abroad. Data has been updated in May 2020.
Sweden 2005 Legislative
Sub-national
Referendums
European Parliamentary elections 		Personal
Postal
Vote by messenger		 1968 Latest version of the legislation providing for external voting was enacted in 2005, however external voting in Sweden started in 1968. Data has been updated in August 2022.
Switzerland 2019 Legislative
Sub-national
Referendums		 Postal 1977 E-voting has been put on hold and has not been used in any forms during 2019 elections. According to officials, e-voting practices need further tests and developments. Data has been updated in January 2020.
Syrian Arab Republic 2020 Presidential Personal No data Syrians abroad were not allowed to vote in 2020 Parliamentary Elections. The last elections in which voters abroad could cast their vote was in 2014 Presidential Elections.
Taiwan 2020 No external voting No external voting Not applicable Eligible voters residing abroad have to return to their original domicile in order to vote. Data has been updated in January 2020.
Tajikistan 1994 Presidential
Legislative
Referendums		 Personal 1994 The initial provisions for external voting appeared in the electoral legislation of early 1990s. Later amendments to those legislation didn't affect the modes of voting from abroad. Data has been updated in February 2020.
Tanzania, United Republic of 2020 No external voting No external voting Not applicable Diaspora voting is still not allowed in 2020 General Elections.
Thailand 2018 Legislative Personal
Postal		 2000 The 2018 version of the Organic Act on Election of Members of the House of Representatives drops the requirement for five hundred voters to organize voting from abroad.
Timor-Leste 2022 Presidential
Legislative		 Personal 2017 Data has been updated in March 2022 based on the most recent versions of electoral legislation.
Togo 2020 Presidential
Legislative
Sub-national
Referendums		 Personal
Proxy		 No data According to the report by ECOWAS, for the first time, the Togolese diaspora participated in the presidential elections held in six Embassies in the DRC, France, Nigeria, the US, Gabon, and Morocco. Data has been updated in June 2020.
Tokelau 2020 No data No data 2006 National Election Rules 2013 does not provide for external voting procedures. Research was conducted in February 2020.
Tonga 2012 No external voting No external voting Not applicable Since the original research by IDEA in 2007 and update of the data in 2012, there have been no electoral reforms to allow out of country voting in Tonga. Research was conducted in December 2021.
Trinidad and Tobago 2020 No external voting No external voting Not applicable Constitution and Representation of the People Act make no references to provisions for external voting. Data has been updated in August 2020.
Tunisia 2022 Presidential
Legislative
Referendums		 Personal 2004 Data has been updated in January 2023
Turkey 2008 Presidential
Legislative
Referendums		 Personal
Voting at the borders		 2014 In Turkey, overseas voting was made possible for the first time in 1987 through an amendment of the electoral law (Law No. 298, 26/4/1961) but voters could only vote at the polling stations set up at the borders. This did not satisfy the definition of voting from abroad as those residing abroad had to travel to Turkey to cast their votes. The Amendment (no. 4121) to Article 67 of the Constitution in 1995 gave the external voting right a constitutional basis. However, still in the four general elections between 1995 and 2007, voting at the border remained the only method. The 2008 amendment to electoral law eventually enabled overseas voters to vote in general elections, the election of the president and referenda in Turkey. Due to some challenges, the external voting was not practically realized until the Presidential elections which took place on 10 August 2014. (Source: “Turkey: Voting from abroad in 2015 general elections”, See full text in the Sources.)
Turkmenistan 2012 Presidential
Legislative
Referendums		 Personal 2012 The Law of Turkmenistan on Referendums enacted in 2012 allowed external voting for referendums. The Electoral Code of 2013 unified all the electoral legislation of the country into one legal document. The first official report of out of country voting appears in the OSCE/ODIHR Needs Assessment Mission Report on Presidential Election of 12 February 2012. Data has been updated in March 2022.
Turks and Caicos Islands 2021 No external voting No external voting Not applicable Section 12 of the Elections Ordinance (as of December 2014) provides only for the registration of some groups of foreign residents, but not for their vote in the elections. Section 40 (Where voters shall vote) does not contain any provisions related to voting outside the islands. The amendments to the legislation up to 2020 have been checked and no changes were found in regards to external voting.
Tuvalu 2019 No external voting No external voting Not applicable Electoral Act provides that electors can vote anywhere in Tuvalu on election day. This, by principe, excludes external voting. Data has been updated in August 2019.
Uganda 2021 No external voting No external voting Not applicable In June 2020, the High Court has ordered to allow Ugandans in diaspora to participate in elections. However, this ruling has not been implemented during 2021 General Elections, and will most likely be implemented during 2026 elections. (Data has been updated in January 2021).
Ukraine 2013 Presidential
Legislative
Referendums		 Personal 1994 The latest change in the law that happened in 2013 was the restriction of the right to vote at the elections of MPs only in the nationwide election district. Ukraine has parallel electoral system in which voters can vote for candidates in single member districts and also for nationwide multi-member election district. (Data has been updated in April 2018)
United Arab Emirates 2019 No provisions for direct elections No provisions for direct elections Not applicable The country holds indirect elections. The first such elections were held in 2006, and the most recent one in 2019. Out of country voting is conducted in the embassies and consulates abroad. Data has been updated in September 2019.
United Kingdom 2011 Legislative
Referendums		 Postal
Proxy		 1918 British citizens abroad voted in a referendum held in 2011
United States 2000 Presidential
Legislative
Sub-national
Referendums		 Postal
e-voting		 1942 Regulations for voting from abroad has not changed since 1986, except the introduction of e-voting in 2000 for Presidential elections.
Uruguay 2019 No external voting No external voting Not applicable An initiative to allow external voting was rejected in a national referendum held on October 2009. External voting was still not allowed during 2019 General Elections (data updated in November 2019).
Uzbekistan 1991 Presidential
Legislative
Referendums		 Personal 1994 External voting takes place mainly in the Embassies of Uzbekistan. In countries where Uzbekistan does not have Embassies, such as Sweden, voters will have to travel to a nearest country where there is Embassy (e.g. in Germany) to cast their vote. Data has been updated in November 2021.
Vanuatu 1982 Legislative
Referendums		 Personal
Proxy		 1980 Data has been updated in March 2020.
Venezuela 2018 Presidential Personal 1998 Electoral Law (as of April 2018) does not clearly specify to which types of elections voting from abroad provisions apply. However, looking at the electoral regulations in the CNE website, one can observe that guidelines for external voting are provided only for Presidential elections, while such guidelines do not exist for Parliamentary elections. Thus, we assume voting from abroad is still allowed only for Presidential elections.
Viet Nam 2021 No external voting No external voting Not applicable Electoral Law of 2015 (effective as of 2021) does not contain provision for external voting.
Virgin Islands, British 2018 No external voting No external voting Not applicable The EOM Report on the latest General Elections in 2015 highlights the absence of external voting and recommends the voting options such as postal or proxy voting for those who stay abroad. Data has been updated in April 2018.
Yemen 2001 Presidential
Referendums		 Personal Not yet implemented Voting from abroad did not take place in 2003, 2006 and 2012 elections.
Zambia 2021 No external voting No external voting Not applicable External voting was not allowed in the recent 2021 elections.
Zimbabwe 2012 Presidential
Legislative		 Postal 1980 Amendments made in 2012 introduced application to postal voting by email, and excluded those "on a duty as a member of a disciplined force or as an electoral officer or monitor" from postal voting. Data has been updated in January 2018.
Summary of Data  
Election type
Value Count
No external voting 56 (25.9%)
Presidential 89 (41.2%)
Legislative 125 (57.9%)
Sub-national 23 (10.6%)
Referendums 75 (34.7%)
In transition 0 (0.0%)
No provisions for direct elections 7 (3.2%)
No data 1 (0.5%)
European Parliamentary elections 23 (10.6%)
Other 13 (6.0%)
Total 216
Missing data 0
Grand total 216
Voting method
Value Count
Personal 109 (50.5%)
No external voting 56 (25.9%)
Postal 53 (24.5%)
Proxy 19 (8.8%)
e-voting 15 (6.9%)
Fax 1 (0.5%)
Not yet decided 1 (0.5%)
In transition 0 (0.0%)
No provisions for direct elections 7 (3.2%)
No data 1 (0.5%)
Other 3 (1.4%)
Total 216
Missing data 0
Grand total 216
First year
Value Count
Not applicable 57 (26.4%)
No data 34 (15.7%)
Other 125 (57.9%)
Total 216
Missing data 0
Grand total 216
Comments
Total 214
Missing data 2
Grand total 216

Disclaimer: Maps presented do not imply on the part of the Institute any judgement on the legal status of any territory or the endorsement of such boundaries, nor does the placement or size of any country or territory reflect the political view of International IDEA. Maps are used in order to add visual clarity to data.