1918 Swiss Referendums
Two referendums were held in Switzerland during 1918. Nohlen, D & Stöver, P (2010) ''Elections in Europe: A data handbook'', p1907 The first was held on 2 June on introducing a direct federal tax, and was rejected by a majority of voters and cantons. The second was held on 13 October 1918 on introducing proportional representation for National Council elections, and was approved by a majority of voters and cantons. As a result, proportional representation was introduced in the 1919 elections.Nohlen & Stöver, p1886 Background Both referendums were popular initiative A popular initiative (also citizens' initiative) is a form of direct democracy by which a petition meeting certain hurdles can force a legal procedure on a proposition. In direct initiative, the proposition is put directly to a plebiscite o ...s, which required a double majority; a majority of the popular vote and majority of the cantons.Nohlen & Stöver, p1891 The decision of each canton was based on the ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Switzerland
Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland is geographically divided among the Swiss Plateau, the Swiss Alps, Alps and the Jura Mountains, Jura; the Alps occupy the greater part of the territory, whereas most of the country's Demographics of Switzerland, 9 million people are concentrated on the plateau, which hosts List of cities in Switzerland, its largest cities and economic centres, including Zurich, Geneva, and Lausanne. Switzerland is a federal republic composed of Cantons of Switzerland, 26 cantons, with federal authorities based in Bern. It has four main linguistic and cultural regions: German, French, Italian and Romansh language, Romansh. Although most Swiss are German-speaking, national identity is fairly cohesive, being rooted in a common historical background, shared ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Dieter Nohlen
Dieter Nohlen (born 6 November 1939) is a German academic and political scientist. He currently holds the position of Emeritus Professor of Political Science in the Faculty of Economic and Social Sciences of the University of Heidelberg. An expert on electoral system An electoral or voting system is a set of rules used to determine the results of an election. Electoral systems are used in politics to elect governments, while non-political elections may take place in business, nonprofit organizations and inf ...s and political development, he has published several books. Bibliography Books published by Nohlen include: *''Electoral systems of the world'' (in German, 1978) *''Lexicon of politics'' (seven volumes) *''Elections and Electoral Systems'' (1996) *''Elections in Africa: A Data Handbook'' (1999 with Michael Krennerich and Bernhard Thibaut) *''Elections in Asia and the Pacific: A Data Handbook'' (2001 with and Christof Hartmann) ** ''Volume 2: South East Asia, East ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Proportional Representation
Proportional representation (PR) refers to any electoral system under which subgroups of an electorate are reflected proportionately in the elected body. The concept applies mainly to political divisions (Political party, political parties) among voters. The aim of such systems is that all votes cast contribute to the result so that each representative in an assembly is mandated by a roughly equal number of voters, and therefore all votes have equal weight. Under other election systems, a bare Plurality (voting), plurality or a scant majority in a district are all that are used to elect a member or group of members. PR systems provide balanced representation to different factions, usually defined by parties, reflecting how votes were cast. Where only a choice of parties is allowed, the seats are allocated to parties in proportion to the vote tally or ''vote share'' each party receives. Exact proportionality is never achieved under PR systems, except by chance. The use of elector ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
National Council Of Switzerland
The National Council (; ; ; ) is a house of the Federal Assembly of Switzerland, representing the people. The other house, Council of States, represents the states, preventing more populous parts of the country overpowering the rest. As the powers of the houses are the same, it is sometimes called perfect bicameralism. Both houses meet in the Federal Palace of Switzerland in Bern. The national council comprises 200 persons. Adult citizens elect the council's members, who are called National Councillors, for four year terms. These members are apportioned to the Swiss cantons in proportion to their population. Organisation With 200 members, the National Council is the larger house of the Swiss legislature. It represents the people, the vote of each citizen having more or less the same weight, whereas the Council of States represents the cantons - each of them having the same weight, regardless of its population. Pierre Cormon, Swiss Politics for Complete Beginners', Editions ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
1919 Swiss Federal Election
Federal elections were held in Switzerland on 26 October 1919.Dieter Nohlen & Philip Stöver (2010) ''Elections in Europe: A data handbook'', p1894 The Free Democratic Party emerged as the largest party in the National Council, winning 60 of the 189 seats. Electoral system This was the first election after proportional representation was adopted. The country was divided into 25 districts - 20 multiple-member districts, with as many as 32 seats, and five were single-member districts. In each, seats were allocated based on parties' vote tallies. Every multi-member district saw multiple parties take seats. In some districts, no party took more than one seat. Unlike the previous Plurality block voting system, each voter now had just one vote. Switzerland used a system of ''apparentment,'' allowing parties to combine votes in the same district. Results National Council By constituency Council of States In several cantons, the members of the Council of States were chosen b ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Federal Popular Initiative
The federal popular initiative (German: ''Eidgenössische Volksinitiative'', French: ''Initiative populaire fédérale'', Italian: ''Iniziativa popolare federale'', Romansh: ''Iniziativa federala dal pievel''), is a Swiss civic right enabling 100,000 citizens with voting rights to propose a total or partial amendment to the Federal Constitution and submit it to a popular vote. The citizens behind the initiative, grouped together in an initiative committee, have 18 months in which to gather the approval of 100,000 citizens. To do this, the 100,000 citizens must affix their handwritten signatures to a signature list, including the text and title of the popular initiative. If 100,000 signatures are collected within 18 months, the initiative is put to the vote. If this is not the case, the initiative is declared "unsuccessful" and the procedure is terminated. The right of initiative also has its counterpart at cantonal and communal level; the procedure, including the number of signat ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
1918 Referendums
The ceasefire that effectively ended the World War I, First World War took place on the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month of this year. Also in this year, the Spanish flu pandemic killed 50–100 million people worldwide. In Russia, this year runs with only 352 days. As the result of Julian to Gregorian calendar switch, 13 days needed to be skipped. Wednesday, January 31 ''(Julian Calendar)'' was immediately followed by Thursday, February 14 ''(Gregorian Calendar)''. Events World War I will be abbreviated as "WWI" January * January – 1918 flu pandemic: The "Spanish flu" (influenza) is first observed in Haskell County, Kansas. * January 4 – The Finnish Declaration of Independence is recognized by Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, Soviet Russia, Sweden, German Empire, Germany and France. * January 8 – American president Woodrow Wilson presents the Fourteen Points as a basis for peace negotiations to end the war. * January 9 ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
1918 In Switzerland
Events during the year 1918 in Switzerland. Incumbents *Swiss Federal Council, Federal Council: **Felix Calonder (president) **Eduard Müller (Swiss politician), Eduard Müller **Giuseppe Motta **Edmund Schulthess **Camille Decoppet **Gustave Ador **Robert Haab Events * 30 September – All workers in major banks in Zürich walk out in protest over salaries and the rising cost of living. * 12–14 November – A 1918 Swiss general strike, general strike takes place. Births * 9 January – Willy Gysi, handball player (died 2001 in Switzerland, 2001) * 28 January – Rudolf Wirz, handball player (died 1988 in Switzerland, 1988) * 28 September – Willi Ritschard, politician (died 1983 in Switzerland, 1983) * 9 October – Willy Hufschmid, handball player Deaths * 19 May – Ferdinand Hodler, painter (born 1853 in Switzerland, 1853) * 29 June – Adrien Lachenal, politician (born 1849 in Switzerland, 1849) References {{Years in Switzerland 1918 in Switzerland, 1918 by c ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |