Collecting of vote signatures to continue in Switzerland as planned
The government said there is currently no reliable evidence that referendums have come about thanks to forged signatures.
Keystone-SDA
Select your language
Generated with artificial intelligence.
Listening: Collecting of vote signatures to continue in Switzerland as planned
The Swiss government is refraining from taking drastic emergency measures following the revelation of suspected cases of fraud. No follow-up checks are to be made and pending initiatives and referendums will not be suspended. Ongoing signature collections should continue as planned.
This content was published on
2 minutes
Keystone-SDA
Deutsch
de
Unterschriftensammlungen sollen wie geplant weiterlaufen
Original
No follow-up checks or suspension of pending initiatives are planned, the government announced on Friday. It thus supports the proposals of the Federal Chancellery.
“To date, there is no reliable evidence that referendums have only come about thanks to forged signatures,” the government said.
Moreover, the authorities lack the legal basis both for suspending the processing of popular initiatives and for the subsequent verification of signatures, it said. “The conditions for creating the appropriate basis by emergency law have not been met,” it said.
Instead, the government wants to counter dishonest practices in the collection of signatures for referendums with criminal prosecution, prevention and improved processes.
Translated from German by DeepL/ts
This news story has been written and carefully fact-checked by an external editorial team. At SWI swissinfo.ch we select the most relevant news for an international audience and use automatic translation tools such as DeepL to translate it into English. Providing you with automatically translated news gives us the time to write more in-depth articles.
If you want to know more about how we work, have a look here, if you want to learn more about how we use technology, click here, and if you have feedback on this news story please write to english@swissinfo.ch.
Popular Stories
More
Climate adaptation
Why Switzerland is among the ten fastest-warming countries in the world
High-net-worth individuals prioritise well-being over material possessions
This content was published on
The priorities of wealthy private individuals have shifted against the backdrop of ongoing geopolitical tensions and trade disputes. While spending on luxury goods is declining, demand for travel and experiences is unabated.
Swiss researchers sequence genome of 1918 Spanish flu virus
This content was published on
Researchers from the Universities of Basel and Zurich (UZH) have sequenced the genome of the Spanish flu virus, thanks to a sample taken from an 18-year-old Swiss boy who died in the city on the Limmat in 1918, when the pandemic spread around the world.
Swiss martyr beatified in Barcelona by Catholic Church
This content was published on
François-Benjamin May (1870-1909), a member of the Marist Brothers congregation, has been recognised as a 'blessed' by the Catholic Church.
Prevention and tech could help save billions on Swiss healthcare costs, says Deloitte
This content was published on
By focusing on prevention and technology, it would be possible to reduce Switzerland's healthcare bill by CHF30 billion a year by 2040, according to Deloitte Switzerland.
Environment director warns of increasing climate-related risks in Switzerland
This content was published on
The director of the Swiss Federal Office for the Environment (FOEN) has warned of increasing climate-related risks in Switzerland in an interview with SonntagsBlick on Sunday.
Gotthard traffic queue hits 11km at start of holiday season
This content was published on
The start of the summer holidays saw a long traffic jam in front of the Gotthard tunnel on Saturday. Traffic jams between Erstfeld and Göschenen in canton Uri were up to 11 kilometres long early in the morning.
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.