Initiative to end conscription handed in
Voters are set to have the final say on a proposal by a pacifist group to end mandatory military duty or civilian service.
The Switzerland without an Army organisation on Thursday handed in just over 107,200 signatures to force a nationwide vote on the issue.
Supporters, including parliamentarians of the centre-left Social Democratic Party and the Greens, said a mass army was a relic of the Cold War period and should be replaced by a voluntary force.
They added that most other countries in Europe had done away with conscription.
A date for the vote still has to be set.
The conservative pressure group, Campaign for an Independent and Neutral Switzerland, said the proposal was a threat to the country’s security and would lead to Nato membership.
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.