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Direct Democracy Database

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Switzerland

Switzerland

Latest available data

General

Referendum

Initiative

Recall

Signature collection

Question	Value
Legal provisions for mandatory referendums at national level	Yes
Legal provisions for optional referendums at national level	Yes
Legal provisions for citizens' initiatives at national level	Yes
Legal provisions for agenda initiatives at national level	No
Legal provisions for recall at national level	No
Legal provisions for direct democracy at the regional level	Mandatory referendum Optional referendum Citizens' initiative Agenda initiative Recall
Legal provisions for direct democracy at the local level	Mandatory referendum Optional referendum Citizens' initiative Agenda initiative
Legal basis for direct democracy at the national level	Constitutional Specific laws/legislation
Legal basis for administrative requirements at the national level	Constitutional Specific laws / legislation
Who administers direct democracy mechanisms at the national level?	Government Legislature
First referendum/initiative held	1848
Has there been a national referendum since 1980?	Yes

Question	Value
Issues in relation to which referendums are mandatory at the national level	Constitutional amendments Transfer of authority to international bodies National sovereignty, national self-determination Conflict between constitutional organs Emergency federal acts
Issues in relation to which referendums are optional at the national level	Adoption of international treaties Federal acts, emergency federal acts whose term of validity exceeds one year, federal decrees as provided by law
Issues excluded from being the subject of referendums at the national level	Adoption of international treaties Taxes and public expenditure commitments See source for more excluded issues
Issues of sub-national referendums regulated at the national level	Creation/merger/abolition of sub-national territories
Who can initiate an optional referendum at the national level?	Registered electors Any eight Cantons (member states)
Who drafts the referendum question?	Mandatory referendum - Legislature Mandatory referendum - Registered electors Optional referendum - Not applicable
Who decides on the final form of the ballot text?	Mandatory referendum - Government Optional referendum - Government
Quorum requirements for a referendum to be valid	No quorum requirements
Requirements for a referendum to pass	Mandatory referendum - simple majority Mandatory referendum - double majority Optional referendum - simple majority
Are referendum results binding?	Mandatory referendum - always Optional referendum - always

Question	Value
Issues that can be proposed by citizens using the initiative process at the national level	Citizens' initiatives - constitutional amendments
Issues excluded from being the subject of an initiative at the national level	Initiative must not infringe mandatory provisions of international law
Who may propose the registration of an initiative?	Citizens' initiative - a number of individuals
Materials to accompany an application for registration	Proposed title General explanation of the purpose Full proposed text Name and address of registrants
Who determines the title of an initiative?	Citizens' initiative - both proponents and the responsible agency
What disqualifies a proposed title of an initiative?	Inconsistency with proposed content Commercial statement Incomprehensibility
Who is responsible for checking the legality of initiatives?	Legislature
At which stage legality check is conducted?	After its submission but before the vote on the initiative
Who decides the final ballot text when the initiative is put to a vote?	Agency which administers direct democracy mechanisms
When does voting take place once an initiative is qualified for ballot?	Within a certain time limit

Question	Value
Which individuals/positions may be subject to the recall?	Members of provincial/local legislature bodies Governors, Mayors or equivalent Provincial/local level elected executive positions
What are the grounds for recall?	No justification is required
What restrictions are there in relation to the time period in which an individual or position can be recalled?	In one canton (Ticino), the government may not be recalled within the first year after its election.
When is the recall put to the vote?	Not specified by legislation
When does the election to replace an individual who has been recalled take place?	Not specified by legislation
Can an individual who is the subject of a recall stand on the ballot for his/her own replacement?	Not specified by legislation

Question	Value
How many signatures are required to start the formal decision making stage of a direct democracy mechanism?	Referendum - fixed number Citizens' Initiative - fixed number
What is the deadline for collecting required number of signatures?	Referendum - fixed time period Citizens' Initiative - fixed time period
Restrictions in relation to the individuals who can sign the proposal	Referendum - signatories must be registered Citizens' Initiative - signatories must be registered
Where can proposals be signed?	Anywhere
What information must signatories provide when signing the proposal?	Personal details
Restrictions in relation to signature collection	Ban on payment per signature Signatures cannot be falsified
What forms of checks are undertaken to verify signatures?	All signatures are checked
Who checks the signatures?	Agency responsible for the administration of direct democracy mechanisms Local authorities

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