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Direct Democracy Database
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Questions
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General
Legal provisions for mandatory referendums at national level
Legal provisions for optional referendums at national level
Legal provisions for citizens' initiatives at national level
Legal provisions for agenda initiatives at national level
Legal provisions for recall at national level
Legal provisions for direct democracy at the regional level
Legal provisions for direct democracy at the local level
Legal basis for direct democracy at the national level
Legal basis for administrative requirements at the national level
Who administers direct democracy mechanisms at the national level?
First referendum/initiative held
Has there been a national referendum since 1980?
Referendum
Issues in relation to which referendums are mandatory at the national level
Issues in relation to which referendums are optional at the national level
Issues excluded from being the subject of referendums at the national level
Issues of sub-national referendums regulated at the national level
Who can initiate an optional referendum at the national level?
Who drafts the referendum question?
Who decides on the final form of the ballot text?
Quorum requirements for a referendum to be valid
Requirements for a referendum to pass
Are referendum results binding?
Initiative
Issues that can be proposed by citizens using the initiative process at the national level
Issues excluded from being the subject of an initiative at the national level
Who may propose the registration of an initiative?
Materials to accompany an application for registration
Who determines the title of an initiative?
What disqualifies a proposed title of an initiative?
Who is responsible for checking the legality of initiatives?
At which stage legality check is conducted?
Who decides the final ballot text when the initiative is put to a vote?
When does voting take place once an initiative is qualified for ballot?
Recall
Which individuals/positions may be subject to the recall?
What are the grounds for recall?
What restrictions are there in relation to the time period in which an individual or position can be recalled?
When is the recall put to the vote?
When does the election to replace an individual who has been recalled take place?
Can an individual who is the subject of a recall stand on the ballot for his/her own replacement?
Signature collection
How many signatures are required to start the formal decision making stage of a direct democracy mechanism?
What is the deadline for collecting required number of signatures?
Restrictions in relation to the individuals who can sign the proposal
Where can proposals be signed?
What information must signatories provide when signing the proposal?
Restrictions in relation to signature collection
What forms of checks are undertaken to verify signatures?
Who checks the signatures?
Countries and Regions
By Region
Alphabetically
By Region/Political entity
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Africa
Eastern Africa
Burundi
Djibouti
Eritrea
Ethiopia
Kenya
Madagascar
Malawi
Mauritius
Mozambique
Rwanda
Seychelles
Somalia
Tanzania, United Republic of
Uganda
Zambia
Zimbabwe
Middle Africa
Angola
Cameroon
Central African Republic
Chad
Congo, Democratic Republic of
Equatorial Guinea
Gabon
Republic of The Congo (Brazzaville)
Sao Tome and Principe
Northern Africa
Algeria
Egypt
Libya
Morocco
South Sudan
Sudan
Tunisia
Southern Africa
Botswana
Eswatini
Lesotho
Namibia
South Africa
Western Africa
Benin
Burkina Faso
Cabo Verde
Cote d'Ivoire
Gambia
Ghana
Guinea
Liberia
Mali
Mauritania
Niger
Nigeria
Senegal
Sierra Leone
Togo
Americas
Caribbean
Anguilla
Antigua and Barbuda
Bahamas
Barbados
Cayman Islands
Cuba
Dominica
Dominican Republic
Grenada
Haiti
Jamaica
Montserrat
Saint Kitts and Nevis
Saint Lucia
Saint Vincent and The Grenadines
Central America
Belize
Costa Rica
El Salvador
Guatemala
Honduras
Mexico
Nicaragua
Panama
Northern America
Bermuda
Canada
Greenland
United States
South America
Argentina
Bolivia
Brazil
Chile
Colombia
Ecuador
Guyana
Paraguay
Peru
Suriname
Uruguay
Venezuela
Asia
Central Asia
Kazakhstan
Kyrgyzstan
Tajikistan
Turkmenistan
Uzbekistan
Eastern Asia
China
Japan
Korea, Republic of
Mongolia
Taiwan
South-Eastern Asia
Brunei Darussalam
Cambodia
Indonesia
Lao People's Dem. Republic
Malaysia
Myanmar
Philippines
Singapore
Thailand
Timor-Leste
Viet Nam
Southern Asia
Afghanistan
Bangladesh
Bhutan
India
Iran, Islamic Republic of
Maldives
Nepal
Pakistan
Sri Lanka
Western Asia
Armenia
Azerbaijan
Bahrain
Georgia
Iraq
Israel
Jordan
Kuwait
Lebanon
Oman
Qatar
Saudi Arabia
State of Palestine
Syrian Arab Republic
Turkey
United Arab Emirates
Yemen
Europe
Eastern Europe
Belarus
Bulgaria
Czech Republic
Hungary
Moldova, Republic of
Poland
Romania
Russian Federation
Slovakia
Ukraine
Northern Europe
Denmark
Estonia
Finland
Iceland
Ireland
Jersey
Latvia
Lithuania
Norway
Sweden
United Kingdom
Southern Europe
Albania
Andorra
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Croatia
Cyprus
Cyprus (North)
Gibraltar
Greece
Italy
Malta
Montenegro
North Macedonia, Republic of
Portugal
Serbia
Slovenia
Spain
Western Europe
Austria
Belgium
France
Germany
Liechtenstein
Luxembourg
Netherlands
Switzerland
Oceania
Australia and New Zealand
Australia
New Zealand
Melanesia
Fiji
Papua New Guinea
Vanuatu
Micronesia
Kiribati
Marshall Islands
Micronesia, Federated States of
Nauru
Palau
Polynesia
Cook Islands
Niue
Samoa
Tonga
Tuvalu
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Afghanistan
Albania
Algeria
Andorra
Angola
Anguilla
Antigua and Barbuda
Argentina
Armenia
Australia
Austria
Azerbaijan
Bahamas
Bahrain
Bangladesh
Barbados
Belarus
Belgium
Belize
Benin
Bermuda
Bhutan
Bolivia
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Botswana
Brazil
Brunei Darussalam
Bulgaria
Burkina Faso
Burundi
Cabo Verde
Cambodia
Cameroon
Canada
Cayman Islands
Central African Republic
Chad
Chile
China
Colombia
Congo, Democratic Republic of
Cook Islands
Costa Rica
Cote d'Ivoire
Croatia
Cuba
Cyprus
Cyprus (North)
Czech Republic
Denmark
Djibouti
Dominica
Dominican Republic
Ecuador
Egypt
El Salvador
Equatorial Guinea
Eritrea
Estonia
Eswatini
Ethiopia
Fiji
Finland
France
Gabon
Gambia
Georgia
Germany
Ghana
Gibraltar
Greece
Greenland
Grenada
Guatemala
Guinea
Guyana
Haiti
Honduras
Hungary
Iceland
India
Indonesia
Iran, Islamic Republic of
Iraq
Ireland
Israel
Italy
Jamaica
Japan
Jersey
Jordan
Kazakhstan
Kenya
Kiribati
Korea, Republic of
Kuwait
Kyrgyzstan
Lao People's Dem. Republic
Latvia
Lebanon
Lesotho
Liberia
Libya
Liechtenstein
Lithuania
Luxembourg
Madagascar
Malawi
Malaysia
Maldives
Mali
Malta
Marshall Islands
Mauritania
Mauritius
Mexico
Micronesia, Federated States of
Moldova, Republic of
Mongolia
Montenegro
Montserrat
Morocco
Mozambique
Myanmar
Namibia
Nauru
Nepal
Netherlands
New Zealand
Nicaragua
Niger
Nigeria
Niue
North Macedonia, Republic of
Norway
Oman
Pakistan
Palau
Panama
Papua New Guinea
Paraguay
Peru
Philippines
Poland
Portugal
Qatar
Republic of The Congo (Brazzaville)
Romania
Russian Federation
Rwanda
Saint Kitts and Nevis
Saint Lucia
Saint Vincent and The Grenadines
Samoa
Sao Tome and Principe
Saudi Arabia
Senegal
Serbia
Seychelles
Sierra Leone
Singapore
Slovakia
Slovenia
Somalia
South Africa
South Sudan
Spain
Sri Lanka
State of Palestine
Sudan
Suriname
Sweden
Switzerland
Syrian Arab Republic
Taiwan
Tajikistan
Tanzania, United Republic of
Thailand
Timor-Leste
Togo
Tonga
Tunisia
Turkey
Turkmenistan
Tuvalu
Uganda
Ukraine
United Arab Emirates
United Kingdom
United States
Uruguay
Uzbekistan
Vanuatu
Venezuela
Viet Nam
Yemen
Zambia
Zimbabwe
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African Union (AU)
Angola
Burkina Faso
Burundi
Benin
Botswana
Congo, Democratic Republic of
Central African Republic
Republic of The Congo (Brazzaville)
Cote d'Ivoire
Cameroon
Cabo Verde
Djibouti
Algeria
Egypt
Eritrea
Ethiopia
Gabon
Ghana
Gambia
Guinea
Equatorial Guinea
Kenya
Liberia
Lesotho
Libya
Chad
Arab League (League of Arab States)
United Arab Emirates
Bahrain
Djibouti
Algeria
Egypt
Iraq
Jordan
Kuwait
Lebanon
Libya
Morocco
Mauritania
Oman
State of Palestine
Qatar
Saudi Arabia
Sudan
Somalia
Syrian Arab Republic
Tunisia
Yemen
Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)
Brunei Darussalam
Indonesia
Cambodia
Lao People's Dem. Republic
Myanmar
Malaysia
Philippines
Singapore
Thailand
Viet Nam
Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS)
Armenia
Azerbaijan
Belarus
Kyrgyzstan
Kazakhstan
Moldova, Republic of
Russian Federation
Tajikistan
Turkmenistan
Ukraine
Uzbekistan
Commonwealth of Nations (Commonwealth)
Antigua and Barbuda
Australia
Barbados
Bangladesh
Brunei Darussalam
Bahamas
Botswana
Belize
Canada
Cameroon
Cyprus
Dominica
United Kingdom
Grenada
Ghana
Gambia
Guyana
India
Jamaica
Kenya
Kiribati
Saint Kitts and Nevis
Saint Lucia
Sri Lanka
Lesotho
Malta
Mauritius
Maldives
Malawi
Malaysia
Mozambique
Namibia
Nauru
Nigeria
New Zealand
Papua New Guinea
Pakistan
Rwanda
Seychelles
Singapore
Sierra Leone
Eswatini
Tonga
Tuvalu
Tanzania, United Republic of
Uganda
Saint Vincent and The Grenadines
Vanuatu
Samoa
South Africa
Zambia
European Union (EU)
Austria
Belgium
Bulgaria
France
Cyprus
Czech Republic
Germany
Denmark
Estonia
Spain
Finland
United Kingdom
Greece
Croatia
Hungary
Ireland
Italy
Lithuania
Luxembourg
Latvia
Malta
Netherlands
Poland
Portugal
Romania
Sweden
Slovenia
Slovakia
International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (IDEA)
Australia
Barbados
Belgium
Botswana
Canada
Switzerland
Chile
Costa Rica
Cabo Verde
Germany
Denmark
Dominican Republic
Spain
Finland
Ghana
India
Mongolia
Mauritius
Mexico
Namibia
Netherlands
Norway
Peru
Philippines
Portugal
Sweden
Uruguay
South Africa
Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC)
Antigua and Barbuda
Argentina
Barbados
Bolivia
Brazil
Bahamas
Belize
Chile
Colombia
Costa Rica
Cuba
Dominica
Dominican Republic
Ecuador
Grenada
Guatemala
Guyana
Honduras
Haiti
Jamaica
Saint Kitts and Nevis
Saint Lucia
Mexico
Nicaragua
Panama
Peru
Paraguay
Suriname
El Salvador
Uruguay
Saint Vincent and The Grenadines
Venezuela
North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)
Albania
Belgium
Bulgaria
Canada
France
Czech Republic
Germany
Denmark
Estonia
Spain
United Kingdom
Greece
Croatia
Hungary
Iceland
Italy
Lithuania
Luxembourg
Latvia
Netherlands
Norway
Poland
Portugal
Romania
Slovenia
Slovakia
Turkey
United States
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)
Austria
Australia
Belgium
Canada
Eswatini
Chile
France
Czech Republic
Germany
Denmark
Estonia
Spain
Finland
United Kingdom
Greece
Hungary
Ireland
Israel
Iceland
Italy
Japan
Korea, Republic of
Luxembourg
Mexico
Netherlands
Norway
New Zealand
Poland
Portugal
Sweden
Slovenia
Slovakia
Turkey
United States
Organisation of American States (OAS)
Antigua and Barbuda
Argentina
Barbados
Bolivia
Brazil
Bahamas
Belize
Canada
Chile
Colombia
Costa Rica
Cuba
Dominica
Dominican Republic
Ecuador
Grenada
Guatemala
Guyana
Honduras
Haiti
Jamaica
Saint Kitts and Nevis
Saint Lucia
Mexico
Nicaragua
Panama
Peru
Paraguay
Suriname
El Salvador
United States
Uruguay
Saint Vincent and The Grenadines
Venezuela
Pacific Islands Forum (PIF)
Australia
Cook Islands
Micronesia, Federated States of
Fiji
Kiribati
Marshall Islands
Nauru
Niue
New Zealand
Papua New Guinea
Palau
Tonga
Tuvalu
Vanuatu
Samoa
South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC)
Afghanistan
Bangladesh
Bhutan
India
Sri Lanka
Maldives
Nepal
Pakistan
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