The Swiss voice in the world since 1935
Top stories
Stay in touch with Switzerland

Swiss parliament calls for pilot project for digital signature collection

Parliament calls for pilot project for digital signature collection
Parliament calls for pilot project for digital signature collection Keystone-SDA

The electronic collection of signatures for initiatives and referendums in Switzerland is to be trialled in a pilot project. After the Senate, the House of Representatives also approved a corresponding proposal on Monday.

+Get the most important news from Switzerland in your inbox

The initiative is intended to facilitate the further development of democracy, as Green Party parliamentarian Gerhard Andrey, who had submitted an identical motion in the House of Representatives, said. The motion was supported by a majority of the Social Democrats, the Radical-Liberal Party, the Centre Party, the Liberal Green Party, the Greens and the Protestant Party.

+ ‘Signatures scam’ reveals cracks in Swiss system

A second motion from the Senate demanded that the collection should only take place via digital channels in future. The text was adopted in an amended form and returned to the Senate. The motion now demands that digital signatures must be possible alongside manual signatures.

The right-wing Swiss People’s Party was largely against both requests. “Popular initiatives and referendums are not internet surveys,” said Benjamin Fischer, representing the committee minority.

Translated from German by DeepL/ts

We select the most relevant news for an international audience and use automatic translation tools to translate them into English. A journalist then reviews the translation for clarity and accuracy before publication.  

Providing you with automatically translated news gives us the time to write more in-depth articles. The news stories we select have been written and carefully fact-checked by an external editorial team from news agencies such as Bloomberg or Keystone.

If you have any questions about how we work, write to us at english@swissinfo.ch

Popular Stories

Most Discussed

News

Premiere for Swiss Air Force on French National Day

More

Premiere for Swiss Air Force on French National Day

This content was published on On July 14, the Swiss Air Force will take part in the traditional air parade in Paris to mark the French bank holidays with an F/A-18 fighter jet. This is a first for Switzerland.

Read more: Premiere for Swiss Air Force on French National Day
Industry calls for "lean implementation" of the EU treaty package

More

Swiss industry backs EU treaty package

This content was published on The Swiss business umbrella organisation Economiesuisse and the employers' association broadly support the package of agreements negotiated with the European Union.

Read more: Swiss industry backs EU treaty package
A bull still on the prowl above St-Aubin (NE)

More

Raging bull found in western Switzerland

This content was published on A 600kg bull that escaped in the Montalchez region of canton Neuchâtel has been found in a pen surrounded by several cows.

Read more: Raging bull found in western Switzerland
Bern chatbot wins the UN AI Award

More

Bern chatbot wins UN artificial intelligence award

This content was published on The Bern-based chatbot "Sophia" has won the United Nations' "AI for Good Impact Award 2025". The chatbot is designed to help victims of domestic violence.

Read more: Bern chatbot wins UN artificial intelligence award

In compliance with the JTI standards

More: SWI swissinfo.ch certified by the Journalism Trust Initiative

You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here . Please join us!

If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.

SWI swissinfo.ch - a branch of Swiss Broadcasting Corporation SRG SSR

SWI swissinfo.ch - a branch of Swiss Broadcasting Corporation SRG SSR