Thirteen national referendums were held in

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 ...

during 2016.

February referendums

On 28 February 2016, referendums were held on four initiatives: # Popular initiative of 5 November 2012 " For the couple and the family - No to the penalty of marriage", proposed by the Christian Democrats. It would have prohibited discrimination in taxes for married couples (who pay more in certain circumstances) compared to other cohabiting couples, but it would also have added the definition of marriage being "the union of a man and a woman". Opposition to the initiative was mainly because it would make opening marriage to same-sex couples no longer possible under the constitution. (The referendum on this initiative was invalidated in a 10 April 2019 decision of the Federal Supreme Court, which ordered a re-vote.) # Popular initiative of 28 December 2012 " For the effective expulsion of foreign criminals", proposed by the

Swiss People's Party The Swiss People's Party (, SVP; , PPS), also known as the Democratic Union of the Centre (, UDC; , UDC), is a national-conservative and right-wing populist political party in Switzerland. Chaired by Marcel Dettling, it is the largest party in ...

which claimed it would provide full implementation of an initiative approved in a November 2010 referendum. Foreigners who commit a crime would be automatically expelled from the country, regardless of the severity of the crime. # Popular initiative of 24 March 2014 "No speculation on food", proposed by the Young Socialists. # Modification of 26 September 2014 of the federal law on road transit in the Alpine region (Reconstruction of the

Gotthard road tunnel The Gotthard Road Tunnel in Switzerland runs from Göschenen in the canton of Uri at its northern portal, to Airolo in Ticino to the south, and is in length below the St Gotthard Pass, a major pass of the Alps. At time of construction, in ...

). It allowed building a second road tunnel in order for the current tunnel to be reconstructed. This government plan was challenged to a referendum by opposition groups who fear the four lanes would eventually be used, increasing traffic, and who considered it too costly. The government recommended the rejection of all three popular initiatives, but recommended approval of the amendments to the federal law on road transit in the Alpine region. The vote results followed these recommendations, with higher voter turnout than usual.

Results

June referendums

Five propositions were on the ballot for the 5 June 2016 referendum: # A

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 ...

for a

basic income Universal basic income (UBI) is a social welfare proposal in which all citizens of a given population regularly receive a minimum income in the form of an unconditional transfer payment, i.e., without a means test or need to perform Work (hu ...

. # A

for fair transport financing. According to this initiative, revenue from fuel tax would have been used exclusively for road construction. # A

for public service. Launched by four news and consumer rights magazines, this initiative sought to improve public services by mandating that the government not set any profitmaking goals for public services, that any profits not fund the overall budget, and that public service directors would not earn more than the corresponding government minister. # A referendum on amendments to the medically assisted reproduction law. # A referendum on amendments to the federal asylum law. All three popular initiatives were rejected, whilst the two legislative amendments were approved. The voters thus again followed the recommendations of the government.

Medically assisted reproduction (MAR)

The law establishes that all embryos conceived in a test tube can be examined using all the genetic techniques available, and then selected. In this way, embryos with Down syndrome (trisomy 21) can be destroyed before implantation.

Asylum law

The new law provided free legal advice and representation for all asylum seekers, and speeding-up procedures for granting or refusing asylum. It also established new federal reception centers run by the federal government and staffed by federal officials where most asylum seekers would be accommodated.

Basic income referendum

The discussion about

in Switzerland began in the 1980s, initially amongst academics such as sociologists who saw the potential to alleviate poverty better than the current system. There was no major public debate in the 1980s nor the 1990s; however, in the early 2000s, things were slowly changing due to a spill-over from the German debate. Two basic income organizations were formed, Initiative Grundeinkommen and BIEN-Switzerland, and one ATTAC-group also became advocates. These organizations had some success, including some articles in national newspapers. The petition calling for a referendum on basic income as a constitutional right was started in April 2012. After six months 42,000 people had signed, and by April 2013 there were approximately 70,000 signatures. By October 2013, more than 130,000 citizens had signed, meaning a referendum on the issue had to be held. Publicity included a truck filled with eight million coins emptying the money in front of the Federal Palace in

Bern Bern (), or Berne (), ; ; ; . is the ''de facto'' Capital city, capital of Switzerland, referred to as the "federal city".; ; ; . According to the Swiss constitution, the Swiss Confederation intentionally has no "capital", but Bern has gov ...

. Even though the initiative's official text submitted to the vote did not specify any level, the campaigners proposed 2,500

Swiss franc The Swiss franc, or simply the franc, is the currency and legal tender of Switzerland and Liechtenstein. It is also legal tender in the Italian exclave of Campione d'Italia which is surrounded by Swiss territory. The Swiss National Bank (SNB) iss ...

s for adults (about US$1,650 at PPP in 2014) and 625 francs for children per month.Swiss to vote on incomes for all - working or not
BBC News, 18 December 2013

Results

September referendums

Three referendums were held on 25 September 2016; a popular initiative for a

green economy A green economy is an economy that aims at reducing environmental risks and ecological scarcities, and that aims for sustainable development without environmental degradation, degrading the environment. It is closely related with ecological econ ...

(launched by the

Green Party of Switzerland The Green Party of Switzerland (; ; ; ) is a green political party in Switzerland. It is the fifth-largest party in the National Council of Switzerland and the largest party that is not represented on the Federal Council. History The first ...

), a popular initiative concerning the retirement system and a referendum on the federal law on

intelligence Intelligence has been defined in many ways: the capacity for abstraction, logic, understanding, self-awareness, learning, emotional knowledge, reasoning, planning, creativity, critical thinking, and problem-solving. It can be described as t ...

. Both of the popular initiatives were rejected, whilst the federal intelligence law was approved.

Results

November referendum

The 27 November referendum had only one question, a federal popular initiative "for the programmed phase-out of nuclear energy" (against

nuclear power plants A nuclear power plant (NPP), also known as a nuclear power station (NPS), nuclear generating station (NGS) or atomic power station (APS) is a thermal power station in which the heat source is a nuclear reactor. As is typical of thermal power s ...

). The initiative dated from 2012, about one year after the

Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster The Fukushima nuclear accident was a major nuclear accident at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant in Ōkuma, Fukushima, Japan, which began on 11 March 2011. The cause of the accident was the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami, which r ...

in Japan. It was rejected by voters.

References

{{Swiss elections

Swiss Swiss most commonly refers to: * the adjectival form of Switzerland * Swiss people Swiss may also refer to: Places * Swiss, Missouri * Swiss, North Carolina * Swiss, West Virginia * Swiss, Wisconsin Other uses * Swiss Café, an old café located ...

Referendums in Switzerland

Referendums A referendum, plebiscite, or ballot measure is a direct vote by the electorate (rather than their representatives) on a proposal, law, or political issue. A referendum may be either binding (resulting in the adoption of a new policy) or advis ...

Same-sex marriage referendums LGBTQ rights in Switzerland