A referendum on creating administrative regions was held in Portugal on 8 November 1998. [1] Two proposals were put to voters, the first on implementing the regions, and the second specifically asking whether voters approved of the new region for their area. The proposals were rejected by wide margins by voters. [2]
The major parties in Portugal at the time listed with their political positioning and their official answer to the referendum question:
Do you agree with implementing administrative region? [2]
| Choice | Votes | % |
|---|---|---|
 No | 2,530,802 | 63.52 |
| Yes | 1,453,749 | 36.48 |
| Valid votes | 3,984,551 | 95.84 |
| Invalid or blank votes | 172,976 | 4.16 |
| Total votes | 4,157,527 | 100.00 |
| Registered voters/turnout | 8,640,026 | 48.12 |
| Source: Nohlen & Stöver | ||
| Referendum results (excluding invalid votes) | |
|---|---|
| Yes 1,453,749 (36.5%) | No 2,530,802 (63.5%) |
| ▲ 50% | |
Do you agree with concretely implementing the administrative region for the area where you live? (question placed only to registered citizens in Continental Portugal) [2]
| Choice | Votes | % |
|---|---|---|
| No | 2,457,604 | 63.93 |
| Yes | 1,386,718 | 36.07 |
| Valid votes | 3,844,322 | 96.94 |
| Invalid or blank votes | 121,531 | 3.06 |
| Total votes | 3,965,853 | 100.00 |
| Registered voters/turnout | 8,243,030 | 48.11 |
| Source: STAPE | ||
| Referendum results (excluding invalid votes) | |
|---|---|
| Yes 1,386,718 (36.1%) | No 2,457,604 (63.9%) |
| ▲ 50% | |
The Scottish devolution referendum of 1997 was a pre-legislative referendum held in Scotland on 11 September 1997 over whether there was support for the creation of a Scottish Parliament with devolved powers, and whether the Parliament should have tax-varying powers. The result was "Yes–Yes": a majority voted in favour of both proposals, and the Parliament was established following an election in 1999. Turnout for the referendum was 60.4%.
A four-part referendum was held in Ukraine on 16 April 2000. The referendum was called by President Leonid Kuchma, and asked voters whether they approved of four amendments to the constitution that would increase the powers of the President and introduce an upper chamber.
The people's referendum of 1946, also known as the Three Times Yes referendum, was a referendum held in Poland on 30 June 1946 on the authority of the State National Council. The referendum presented an opportunity for the forces vying for political control of Poland following World War II to test their popularity among the general population. However, the results were forged and the referendum failed to meet democratic standards.
A four-part referendum was held in Russia on 25 April 1993. Voters were asked questions on confidence in President Boris Yeltsin, support for the government's socio-economic policies and early elections for both the presidency and parliament. The referendum was initiated by the Congress of People's Deputies, which stipulated that Yeltsin would need to obtain 50% of the electorate, rather than 50% of valid votes. However, the Constitutional Court ruled that the president required only a simple majority on two issues: confidence in him, and economic and social policy; though he would still need the support of more than half the electorate in order to call new parliamentary and presidential elections.
A referendum on the Act of Declaration of Independence was held in Ukraine on 1 December 1991. An overwhelming majority of 93% of voters approved the declaration of independence made by the Verkhovna Rada on 24 August 1991. Voters were asked "Do you support the Act of Declaration of Independence of Ukraine?" The text of the Declaration was included as a preamble to the question. The referendum was called by the Parliament of Ukraine to confirm the Act of Independence, which was adopted by the Parliament on 24 August 1991. Citizens of Ukraine expressed overwhelming support for independence. In the referendum, 31,891,742 registered voters took part, and among them 28,804,071 voted "Yes".
An abortion referendum took place in Portugal on 11 February 2007, to decide whether to legalise abortion up to ten weeks. The referendum was the fulfillment of an election pledge by the governing Socialist Party of Prime Minister José Sócrates.
A referendum on the enlargement of the European Communities (EC) was held in France on 23 April 1972. Voters were asked whether they approved of Denmark, Ireland, Norway and the United Kingdom joining the EC, although Norway later voted in its own referendum not to join. The proposals were approved by 68.3% of voters, with a turnout of 60.2%.
A constitutional referendum was held in France on 21 October 1945. Voters were asked whether they approved of the Assembly elected on the same day serving as a Constituent Assembly, and whether until a new constitution was approved, the country would be governed according to a proposed set of laws that appeared on the ballot paper. If the first proposal had not been approved, the Third Republic would have been restored, but its approval led to the elected Assembly drafting a constitution and proposing it to the people a year later, resulting in the creation of the Fourth Republic. Both were approved by wide margins with a turnout of 79.8%.
A constitutional referendum was held in France on 5 May 1946. Voters were asked whether they approved of a new draft Constitution proposed by the Constituent Assembly elected in 1945.
A referendum on revoking some medical and tuition fees was held in Hungary on 9 March 2008. The proposals would cancel government reforms which introduced doctor visit fees paid per visitation and medical fees paid per number of days spent in hospital as well as tuition fees in higher education. All three were supported by a majority of voters. Prime Minister Ferenc Gyurcsány stated that the fees would be abolished on 1 April 2008 following the referendum, but that the government had no funds available to replace the income lost for the higher educations institutions and health institutions due to the abolishment of the fees.
A referendum on joining the European Union was held in Hungary on 12 April 2003. The proposal was approved by 83.8% of voters, with a voter turnout of 45.6%. Hungary subsequently joined the EU on 1 May 2004.
A referendum on the future of the Soviet Union was held on 17 March 1991 across the Soviet Union. It was the only national referendum in the history of the Soviet Union, although it was boycotted by authorities in six of the fifteen Soviet republics.
A referendum on political and economic reforms was held in Poland on 29 November 1987. The government's aim in holding the referendum was to obtain a mandate for difficult economic and political reforms. Around a third of eligible voters did not participate, defying the regime. Only 44% of Poland's 26 million eligible voters voted yes to the question on economic reform, and 46% voted yes to the second question on "democratisation" in Poland. Even though a majority of the votes cast supported the propositions, according to the rules of the referendum the majority of eligible voters had to vote yes in order for the referendum to pass. The resulting failure of the referendum was unprecedented, as it was the first time that Communist authorities in Eastern Europe had lost a vote.
A five-part referendum was held in Italy on 17 and 18 May 1981. The proposals included repealing laws on public order, life sentences, gun licences, and abortion. All were rejected by voters, with no proposal receiving more than 32% of the vote.
A referendum on the "double yes" for referendums was held in Liechtenstein on 13 September 1987. The proposal would mean that during referendums on draft legislation, voters would have the option of rejecting all proposals, agreeing with one proposal, or agreeing to several. If voters were to agree with several, they had to rank them in case more than one was approved by voters. It was approved by 62.9% of voters.
The Portuguese constitutional referendum was held on 19 March 1933. A draft of the Constitution had been published one year before and the public was invited to state any objections in the press. These tended to stay in the realm of generalities and only a handful of people, less than 6,000, voted against the new constitution. With its passage, women were allowed to vote for the first time in Portugal and given a voice in the National Assembly.
A referendum on the electoral law was held in San Marino on 3 July 2005. Voters were asked four questions on changes to the electoral law and electoral system. Although all four were approved by a majority of those voting, voter turnout was just 21.7%, meaning that the quorum of 32% of registered voters (10,143) was not achieved for any question. This resulted in all four questions failing, including two that proposed raising the quorum to 40%.
Five referendums were held in Switzerland during 1929. The first three were held on 3 March on the issues of grain supply and a federal law on tariffs. The counter-proposal to the grain supply question and the tariffs law were both approved. The fourth and fifth referendums were held on 12 May on popular initiatives on road traffic and banning spirits. Both were rejected by voters.
Fifteen referendums were held in Switzerland during 2000. The first five were held on 12 March on reforming the judiciary and four popular initiatives; "for speeding up direct democracy ", "for a just representation of women in federal authorities", "for the protection of men against manipulations in procreation technology" and one to reduce motorised road by 50%. Whilst the judiciary reform was approved, all four popular initiatives were rejected. The next referendum was held on 21 May to authorise sectoral agreements between Switzerland and the European Union, and was approved by around two-thirds of voters.
A sovereignty referendum was held in the Ukrainian SSR on 17 March 1991 as part of a USSR-wide referendum. Voters were asked two questions on reforming the Soviet Union into a confederation of sovereign states. Most voters supported the proposal, although in the pro-independence oblasts of Ivano-Frankivsk, Lviv and Ternopil, voters opted for independence as part of an additional question.
| Presidential elections | |
|---|---|
| Parliamentary elections |
|
| Constituent Assembly elections | |
| Local elections | |
| European elections | |
| Referendums | |
| |
