Overseas voting in Asia and the Pacific: Challenges and policy pathways
A migrant worker boards a flight from Nepal. Credit: Migrationlab/Upasana Khadka
International IDEA released three publications in 2025 examining the voting rights of overseas citizens across Asia and the Pacific. Migration is deeply embedded in the region, with many citizens studying, working or settling abroad while elections take place in their countries of origin, posing challenges for voter registration, participation and representation. The publications—reports on the Pacific Islands and South Asia, as well as a study on online voting among Filipino citizens living abroad—analysed the challenges facing diaspora voters and identified opportunities for policymakers and stakeholders to expand enfranchisement. In the Philippines, the Commission on Elections circulated International IDEA’s online overseas voting report as part of its evaluation of the 2025 midterm elections, contributing to the Commission’s own organizational learning in preparation for the next elections. Across the region, the findings also informed policy debates. In Nepal for example, International IDEA delivered technical advice to the Ministry of Home Affairs on out-of-country voting options.
The enfranchisement of absent voters represents a challenge—but also an opportunity for more representative forms of democratic governance in the Pacific.
| Funding | International IDEA Member State core contributions |
|---|---|
| Theme | |
| Pillar(s) |
