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Has there been a national referendum since 1980?
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Has there been a national referendum since 1980?
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Direct Democracy Database
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?
Breakdown by Continent
Continent
Yes
No
Countries researched
Africa
42
(87.5%)
6
(12.5%)
48
Americas
21
(72.4%)
8
(27.6%)
29
Asia
27
(64.3%)
15
(35.7%)
42
Europe
42
(95.5%)
2
(4.5%)
44
Oceania
9
(81.8%)
2
(18.2%)
11
Total
141
33
174
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Country answers
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Value
Details
Afghanistan
No
view
Albania
Yes
view
Algeria
Yes
view
Andorra
Yes
view
Angola
No
view
Argentina
Yes
view
Armenia
Yes
view
Australia
Yes
view
Austria
Yes
view
Azerbaijan
Yes
view
Bahamas
Yes
view
Bahrain
Yes
view
Bangladesh
Yes
view
Belarus
Yes
view
Belgium
No
view
Benin
Yes
view
Bermuda
Yes
view
Bolivia
Yes
view
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Yes
view
Botswana
Yes
view
Brazil
Yes
view
Bulgaria
Yes
view
Burkina Faso
Yes
view
Burundi
Yes
view
Cambodia
No
view
Cameroon
No
view
Canada
Yes
view
Central African Republic
Yes
view
Chad
Yes
view
Chile
Yes
view
China
No
view
Colombia
Yes
view
Congo, Democratic Republic of
Yes
view
Cook Islands
Yes
view
Costa Rica
Yes
view
Cote d'Ivoire
Yes
view
Croatia
Yes
view
Cuba
No
view
Cyprus
Yes
view
Cyprus (North)
Yes
view
Czech Republic
Yes
view
Denmark
Yes
view
Djibouti
Yes
view
Dominican Republic
No
view
Ecuador
Yes
view
Egypt
Yes
view
El Salvador
No
view
Equatorial Guinea
Yes
view
Eritrea
Yes
view
Estonia
Yes
view
Ethiopia
Yes
view
Finland
Yes
view
France
Yes
view
Gabon
Yes
view
Gambia
Yes
view
Georgia
Yes
view
Germany
No
view
Ghana
Yes
view
Gibraltar
Yes
view
Greece
Yes
view
Greenland
Yes
view
Guatemala
Yes
view
Guinea
Yes
view
Guyana
No
view
Haiti
Yes
view
Honduras
No
view
Hungary
Yes
view
Iceland
Yes
view
India
No
view
Indonesia
No
view
Iran, Islamic Republic of
Yes
view
Iraq
Yes
view
Ireland
Yes
view
Italy
Yes
view
Jamaica
No
view
Japan
No
view
Jordan
No
view
Kazakhstan
Yes
view
Kenya
Yes
view
Kiribati
Yes
view
Korea, Republic of
Yes
view
Kyrgyzstan
Yes
view
Lao People's Dem. Republic
No
view
Latvia
Yes
view
Liberia
Yes
view
Libya
No
view
Liechtenstein
Yes
view
Lithuania
Yes
view
Luxembourg
Yes
view
Madagascar
Yes
view
Malawi
Yes
view
Malaysia
No
view
Maldives
Yes
view
Mali
Yes
view
Malta
Yes
view
Marshall Islands
Yes
view
Mauritania
Yes
view
Mexico
Yes
view
Micronesia, Federated States of
Yes
view
Moldova, Republic of
Yes
view
Mongolia
Yes
view
Montenegro
Yes
view
Morocco
Yes
view
Mozambique
No
view
Myanmar
Yes
view
Namibia
No
view
Nepal
Yes
view
Netherlands
Yes
view
New Zealand
Yes
view
Nicaragua
No
view
Niger
Yes
view
Nigeria
No
view
Niue
Yes
view
North Macedonia, Republic of
Yes
view
Norway
Yes
view
Oman
No
view
Pakistan
Yes
view
Palau
Yes
view
Panama
Yes
view
Papua New Guinea
No
view
Paraguay
Yes
view
Peru
Yes
view
Philippines
Yes
view
Poland
Yes
view
Portugal
Yes
view
Qatar
Yes
view
Republic of The Congo (Brazzaville)
Yes
view
Romania
Yes
view
Russian Federation
Yes
view
Rwanda
Yes
view
Saint Kitts and Nevis
Yes
view
Samoa
Yes
view
Sao Tome and Principe
Yes
view
Saudi Arabia
No
view
Senegal
Yes
view
Serbia
Yes
view
Seychelles
Yes
view
Sierra Leone
Yes
view
Singapore
No
view
Slovakia
Yes
view
Slovenia
Yes
view
Somalia
Yes
view
South Africa
Yes
view
South Sudan
Yes
view
Spain
Yes
view
Sri Lanka
Yes
view
State of Palestine
No
view
Sudan
Yes
view
Suriname
Yes
view
Sweden
Yes
view
Switzerland
Yes
view
Syrian Arab Republic
Yes
view
Taiwan
Yes
view
Tajikistan
Yes
view
Tanzania, United Republic of
Yes
view
Thailand
Yes
view
Timor-Leste
Yes
view
Togo
Yes
view
Tonga
No
view
Tunisia
Yes
view
Turkey
Yes
view
Turkmenistan
Yes
view
Uganda
Yes
view
Ukraine
Yes
view
United Arab Emirates
No
view
United Kingdom
Yes
view
United States
No
view
Uruguay
Yes
view
Uzbekistan
Yes
view
Venezuela
Yes
view
Viet Nam
No
view
Yemen
Yes
view
Zambia
Yes
view
Zimbabwe
Yes
view