Swiss Referendum Results

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/swiss-voters-nuclear-energy-phaseout-renewable-power-switzerland-referendum-doris-leuthard-a7748906.html

"Swiss voters have backed government plans to replace the power from ageing nuclear reactors with renewable energy.
A total of 58.2% of voters supported the phaseout of nuclear energy in a binding referendum on Sunday. Under the Swiss system of direct democracy, voters have the final say on major policy issues. The plan will provide billions of pounds in subsidies for renewable energy, ban the construction of nuclear plants and decommission the country’s five existing ones, which produce about a third of the country’s electricity."

Total respect for Switzerland's citizens. The future has to be renewable energy sources. It is insane for such a small nation like Switzerland to have so many nuclear reactors when all that is needed is just one of those to have a malfunction to have catastrophic consequences.

Congratulations to the swiss citizens for their high developed democracy.

They can vote on matters that most of the so called 'advanced democracies' can't even dream to do it.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/may/19/switzerland-votes-in-referendum-on-tighter-gun-laws Quoting:

Swiss voters have agreed by a nearly two-to-one margin to adopt tighter gun controls in line with changes to European Union rules, heading off a clash with Brussels. The measure passed in the binding referendum on Sunday under the Swiss system of direct democracy by a 64%-36% margin, provisional final results showed.

The restrictions, which apply to Switzerland as a non-EU member because it is part of Europe’s Schengen open-border system, had raised hackles among shooting enthusiasts before the vote. Failure to adopt the rules could have forced Switzerland to leave the passport-free Schengen zone and the Dublin joint system for handling asylum requests.

After militants killed scores of people in Paris in 2015, the EU in 2017 toughened laws against purchasing semi-automatic rifles such as the ones used in those attacks and made it easier to track weapons in national databases. The initial EU proposal provoked an outcry because it meant a ban on the Swiss tradition of ex-soldiers keeping their assault rifles. Swiss officials negotiated concessions for veterans and gun enthusiasts who take part in the country’s numerous shooting clubs, but any restrictions imported from the EU go too far for right-wing activists concerned about Swiss sovereignty.

“To me, the new obligations linked to the possession of guns are not that restrictive, while the risk of not being able to benefit from Schengen’s advantages are very real,” said one bank employee who gave his name only as Philippe. “It has nothing to do with blackmail, it is just that Switzerland has to align itself with a system in which it participates.”

Gun rights proponents complained the rules could disarm law-abiding citizens and encroach on Switzerland’s heritage and national identity, which includes a well-armed citizenry.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-54316316  Quoting:

Swiss voters have rejected a proposal to end an accord with the EU allowing the free movement of people. With all referendum votes counted, nearly 62% said they wanted to keep free movement, while 38% were against.

Switzerland is not a member of the EU but has a series of interdependent treaties with Brussels which allow it to access to Europe's free trade area. The move to rein in immigration was proposed by the Swiss People's Party (SVP), but opposed by the government. A similar initiative to introduce quotas on immigrants from the EU to Switzerland narrowly passed in a 2014 referendum, damaging Swiss-EU relations.

Swiss people are given a direct say in their own affairs under the country's system of direct democracy. They are regularly invited to vote on various issues in national or regional referendums. Supporters of the anti-free movement plan said it would allow Switzerland to control its borders and select only the immigrants it wants. Opponents argued it would plunge a healthy economy into recession at an uncertain time and deprive hundreds of thousands of Swiss citizens of their freedom to live and work across Europe.

A landlocked country that has observed neutrality for centuries, Switzerland has over time veered between seeking closer engagement with the EU, and preferring a more isolationist course. Sunday's referendum could have forced the Swiss government to unilaterally void its free movement agreement with the EU by invoking a so-called guillotine clause. This clause would have impacted other bilateral deals on transport, research and trade with the EU, disrupting economic activity.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9335357/Swiss-look-set-approve-ban-facial-coverings-tight-referendum.html Quoting:

Switzerland is to become the latest European country to ban face coverings such as burqas, following the likes of France and Denmark. Voters approved proposals to ban full facial coverings in a tight referendum, passing by a margin of 51.2% to 48.8%.

The move, started before the Covid-19 pandemic, has been dubbed the burqa ban by local politicians and media while demonstrators opposed to the proposals marched this evening in protest. The proposal, made by the far right Swiss People's Party, does not mention Islam directly but campaigners have called it an attack on the religion. It outlaws anything covering faces, which also includes wearing ski masks and bandanas during protests. Masks to protect against Covid-19 are allowed as coverings are permitted for health reasons, during particular weather patterns or at religious sites.

Walter Wobmann, chairman of the referendum committee and a member of parliament for the Swiss People's Party, said: ‘In Switzerland, our tradition is that you show your face. That is a sign of our basic freedoms. Facial covering is a symbol for this extreme, political Islam which has become increasingly prominent in Europe and which has no place in Switzerland.’

The Swiss government had called on people to reject the move and made a counter-proposal requiring people to show their faces if required by authorities, which would take effect in the event of a 'no' vote. One advert put up by the People's Party (SVP) has the slogan 'stop extremism!' above an image of someone wearing a headscarf and face veil. Two Swiss cantons, St Gallen and Ticino, have already banned full face coverings in regional votes - but the new measure would apply across all of Switzerland.

Muslim groups condemned the vote and said they would challenge it. The Central Council of Muslims in Switzerland promised legal challenges to laws implementing the ban and a fundraising drive to help women who are fined. A spokesman said: ‘Today's decision opens old wounds, further expands the principle of legal inequality, and sends a clear signal of exclusion to the Muslim minority.’ The Federation of Islamic Organisations in Switzerland added: ‘Anchoring dress codes in the constitution is not a liberation struggle for women but a step back into the past.’

France banned wearing a full face veil in public in 2011 and Denmark, Austria, the Netherlands and Bulgaria have full or partial bans on wearing face coverings in public.

Muslims make up 5.2% of the Swiss population of 8.6million people, with most having their roots in Turkey, Bosnia and Kosovo. But the government says very few people in Switzerland wear full-face coverings and they are mostly seen on female visitors who only spend a brief time in the country. Montreux and other destinations around Lake Geneva as well as Interlaken in central Switzerland typically attract Muslim tourists from the wealthy Gulf Arab states. The University of Lucerne estimates that as few as 30 women in Switzerland regularly wear the niqab while none wear the burqa.

https://www.voanews.com/a/swiss-approve-same-sex-marriage-by-landslide-in-referendum/6246318.html  Quoting:

GENEVA — Switzerland voted by a wide margin to allow same-sex couples to marry in a referendum on Sunday, bringing the Alpine nation into line with many others in western Europe. Official results showed the measure passed with 64.1% of voters in favor and won a majority in all of Switzerland's 26 cantons, or states.

Switzerland's parliament and the governing Federal Council supported the "Marriage for All" measure. Switzerland has authorized same-sex civil partnerships since 2007. Supporters said passage would put same-sex partners on equal legal footing with heterosexual couples by allowing them to adopt children together and facilitating citizenship for same-sex spouses. It would also permit lesbian couples to utilize regulated sperm donation. Opponents believe that replacing civil partnerships with full marriage rights would undermine families based on a union between one man and one woman . . .

The campaign has been rife with allegations of unfair tactics, with the opposing sides decrying the ripping down of posters, LGBT hotlines getting flooded with complaints, hostile emails, shouted insults against campaigners and efforts to silence opposing views.

Switzerland, which has a population of 8.5 million, is traditionally conservative and only extended the right to vote to all its women in 1990. Most countries in western Europe already recognize same-sex marriage, while most of those in central and eastern Europe don't allow wedlock involving two men or two women.

Supporters say it could still be months before same-sex couples can get married, mainly because of administrative and legislative procedures.

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Also on Sunday, voters dismissed a proposal spearheaded by left-wing groups to raise taxes on returns from investments and capital such as dividends or income from rental properties in Switzerland as a way to ensure better redistribution and fairer taxation. Results showed 64.9% voting against it in a country known for its vibrant financial sector and relatively low taxes, and as a haven for many of the world's richest people. No canton voted in favor.