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Referendum on modifying articles 9, 65, 66 and 112 of the constitution. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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A constitutional referendum was held in Liechtenstein on 1 July 2012 [1] concerning limiting the extensive veto powers held by the Prince of Liechtenstein. The proposals were rejected by 76% of voters. [1]
Prior to the 2011 referendum on abortion, Regent Alois had threatened to veto the change to the law to allow voluntary abortion in the first twelve weeks of pregnancy even if the referendum passed. [1] [2]
The question was agreed on 9 February, and 1,732 signatures were collected between 29 March and 9 May. [1] Of these, 1,726 were declared valid, exceeding the 1,500 required to force a referendum. [1] The Landtag rejected the law on 23 May by a vote of 18 to 7 and subsequently set the date of the referendum. [1]
The proposed changes would have modified articles 9, 65, 66 and 112 of the constitution. [1] Article 9 stated "Every law requires for its validity the sanction of the Prince", and would have been amended to add "or approval in a referendum." Article 65 would have had the sentence "If the sanction of the Prince is not received within six months, it shall be deemed to be denied" removed. [1]
As a result, an initiative called "Damit deine Stimme zählt" ("So that your voice counts") was launched to change the constitution to prevent the Prince from vetoing legislation approved in referendums. [1] To counter the campaign, opponents of the change set up a group called "Für Gott, Fürst und Vaterland" ("For God, prince and fatherland"; which is the motto of Liechtenstein as well as its National Police). [3]
The Princely family threatened to veto the referendum if it resulted in a vote in favour of removing the veto, [4] whilst Alois threatened to resign if it passed. [5]
| Choice | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
| For | 3,602 | 23.57 | |
| Against | 11,681 | 76.43 | |
| Total | 15,283 | 100.00 | |
| Valid votes | 15,283 | 96.69 | |
| Invalid/blank votes | 524 | 3.31 | |
| Total votes | 15,807 | 100.00 | |
| Registered voters/turnout | 19,076 | 82.86 | |
| Source: Direct Democracy | |||
Liechtenstein is a principality governed under a semi-constitutional monarchy. It has a form of mixed constitution in which political power is shared by the monarch and a democratically elected parliament. There is a two-party system and a form of representative democracy in which the prime minister and head of government is responsible to parliament. However the Prince of Liechtenstein is head of state and exercises considerable political powers.
Political identity came to the territory now occupied by the Principality of Liechtenstein in 814, with the formation of the subcountry of Lower Rhætia. Liechtenstein's borders have remained unchanged since 1434, when the Rhine established the border between the Holy Roman Empire and the Swiss cantons.
Royal assent is the method by which a monarch formally approves an act of the legislature, either directly or through an official acting on the monarch's behalf. In some jurisdictions, royal assent is equivalent to promulgation, while in others that is a separate step. Under a modern constitutional monarchy, royal assent is considered little more than a formality. Even in nations such as the United Kingdom, Norway, the Netherlands, Liechtenstein and Monaco which still, in theory, permit their monarch to withhold assent to laws, the monarch almost never does so, except in a dire political emergency or on advice of government. While the power to veto by withholding royal assent was once exercised often by European monarchs, such an occurrence has been very rare since the eighteenth century.
Hans-Adam II is the Prince of Liechtenstein. He is the son of Prince Franz Joseph II and his wife, Countess Georgina von Wilczek. He also bears the titles Duke of Troppau and Jägerndorf, and Count of Rietberg. Under his reign, a 2003 constitutional referendum expanded the powers of the Prince of Liechtenstein. In 2004, Hans-Adam transferred day-to-day governmental duties to his eldest son Hereditary Prince Alois as regent, like his father had granted him in 1984 to prepare him for the role.
A supermajority is a requirement for a proposal to gain a specified level of support which is greater than the threshold of one-half used for a simple majority. Supermajority rules in a democracy can help to prevent a majority from eroding fundamental rights of a minority, but can also hamper efforts to respond to problems and encourage corrupt compromises at times when action is taken. Changes to constitutions, especially those with entrenched clauses, commonly require supermajority support in a legislature. Parliamentary procedure requires that any action of a deliberative assembly that may alter the rights of a minority have a supermajority requirement, such as a two-thirds vote. In consensus democracy the supermajority rule is applied in most cases.
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Amendments to the Constitution of Ireland are only possible by way of referendum. A proposal to amend the Constitution of Ireland must be initiated as a bill in Dáil Éireann, be passed by both Houses of the Oireachtas (parliament), then submitted to a referendum, and finally signed into law by the president of Ireland. Since the constitution entered into force on 29 December 1937, there have been 32 amendments to the constitution.
In the politics of the United States, the process of initiatives and referendums allow citizens of many U.S. states to place legislation on the ballot for a referendum or popular vote, either enacting new legislation, or voting down existing legislation. Citizens, or an organization, might start a popular initiative to gather a predetermined number of signatures to qualify the measure for the ballot. The measure is placed on the ballot for the referendum, or actual vote.
Referendums are held only occasionally by the Government of New Zealand. Referendums may be government-initiated or held in accordance with the Electoral Act 1993 or the Citizens Initiated Referenda Act 1993. Nineteen referendums have been held so far ; fourteen were government-led, and five were indicative citizen initiatives.
Abortion in Liechtenstein is illegal in most circumstances with limited exceptions in cases where the life of the pregnant woman is at risk, or where the pregnancy has resulted from a sexual offence. Religion in Liechtenstein is mainly Roman Catholic, which is reflected in the faith of the ruling Princely House of Liechtenstein and in the country's laws and culture around pregnancy.
A constitutional referendum regarding the Prince’s powers was held in Liechtenstein on 14 March 2003. The referendum had two questions: a "Princely Initiative" and a "Constitution Peace Initiative". The first question passed with 64.32% in favour and the second question was rejected by 83.44% of voters.
Alois, Hereditary Prince of Liechtenstein is the eldest son of Hans-Adam II, Prince of Liechtenstein, and Countess Marie Kinsky von Wchinitz und Tettau, and the heir apparent to the throne of Liechtenstein. Alois has been regent of the country since 15 August 2004, while his father remains the official head of state.
A constitutional referendum on the subject of abortion law was held in Liechtenstein on 27 November 2005. Voters were presented with a "For Life" proposal and a counterproposal by the Landtag. For the first time since 1925, a Landtag counterproposal was approved, whilst the "For Life" initiative was rejected.
Three referendums were held in Liechtenstein during 2011. The first on approving the registered partnership law was held between 17 and 19 June, and was approved by 68.8% of voters. The law went into effect on 1 September. The second was held on 18 September on allowing abortion within the first twelve weeks of pregnancy. Prince Alois had threatened to veto the result of the referendum should it have turned out in favour, but ultimately it was rejected by voters. The third was on building a new national hospital in Vaduz was held on 30 October, and was also rejected.
The monarchy of Liechtenstein is the constitutional form of government by which a hereditary sovereign reigns as the head of state of Liechtenstein. The current monarch is Prince Hans-Adam II. The House of Liechtenstein, after which the sovereign principality was named in 1719, hails from Liechtenstein Castle in Lower Austria, which the family possessed from the middle of the twelfth century to the thirteenth century, and from 1807 onward. It is the only remaining European monarchy that practises strict agnatic primogeniture.
A referendum is a direct vote in which an entire electorate is asked to either accept or reject a particular proposal. This article summarises referendum laws and practice in various countries.
A referendum on the Health Insurance Act was held in Liechtenstein on 13 December 2015. It was approved by 53% of voters.
Ten national referendums were held in Switzerland in 2018. Voting took place on 4 March, 10 June, 23 September and 25 November.
Two referendums were held in Liechtenstein during 2022. The first was held on 26 June 2022, in which voters decided on an exemption for pensioners from paying the annual deductible of the national health insurance. The second was held on 18 September on COVID-19 legislation.
The 2022 Kansas abortion referendum was a rejected legislatively referred constitutional amendment to the Kansas Constitution that appeared on the ballot on August 2, 2022, alongside primary elections for statewide offices, with early voting from July 13. If enacted, the amendment would have declared that the Kansas Constitution does not guarantee a right to abortion, giving the Kansas state government power to prosecute individuals involved in abortions, and further declared that the Kansas government is not required to fund abortions.
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