National referendums are seldom used in Canada. The first two referendums in 1898 and 1942 saw voters in Quebec and the remainder of Canada take dramatically-opposing stands, and the third in 1992 saw most of the voters take a stand dramatically opposed to that of the politicians in power.
Referendums in the United Kingdom are occasionally held at a national, regional or local level. Historically, national referendums are rare due to the long-standing principle of parliamentary sovereignty. There is no constitutional requirement to hold a national referendum for any purpose or on any issue; the UK Parliament is free to legislate through an Act of Parliament for a national plebiscite to be held on any question at any time, but these cannot be constitutionally binding on either the Government or Parliament, although they usually have a persuasive political effect.
This is a list of referendums related to the European Union, or referendums related to the European Communities, which were predecessors of the European Union. Since 1972, a total of 48 referendums have been held by EU member states, candidate states, and their territories, with several additional referendums held in countries outside the EU. The referendums have been held most commonly on the subject of whether to become a member of European Union as part of the accession process, although the EU does not require any candidate country to hold a referendum to approve membership or as part of treaty ratification. Other EU-related referendums have been held on the adoption of the euro and on participation in other EU-related policies.
Elections in Lithuania are held to select members of the parliament, the president, members of the municipal councils and mayors, as well as delegates to the European Parliament. Lithuanian citizens can also vote in mandatory or consultative referendums.
The 2003 Lithuanian European Union referendum took place from 10 May to 11 May 2003 to decide whether Lithuania should join the European Union (EU). Over 90% of those who voted supported membership and Lithuania joined the EU on 1 May 2004.
A referendum on extending the operation of the Ignalina Nuclear Power Plant was held in Lithuania on 12 October 2008 alongside parliamentary elections. The country's government was obliged to close down Ignalina as part of its treaty of accession to the European Union.
Eight referendums were held in Switzerland during 2009. The first was held on 8 February on extending the freedom of movement for workers from Bulgaria and Romania. The next two were held on 17 May 2009 on introducing biometric passports and the "Future with complementary medicine" proposal. A further two were held on 27 September on increasing VAT and the introduction of public initiatives. The final three were held on 29 November on banning the construction of new minarets, exporting weapons and the use of aviation fuel taxation.
A referendum on the future of the Soviet Union was held on 17 March 1991 across the Soviet Union. The question put to voters was
Do you consider necessary the preservation of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics as a renewed federation of equal sovereign republics in which the rights and freedom of an individual of any ethnicity will be fully guaranteed?
(Russian transliteration: Schitaete li Vy neobkhodimym sokhranenie Soiuza Sovetskikh Sotsialisticheskikh Respublik kak obnovlionnoi federatsii ravnopravnykh suverennykh respublik, v kotoroi budut v polnoi mere garantirovatʹsia prava i svobody cheloveka liuboi natsionalʹnosti?)
A constitutional referendum was held in Lithuania on 10 November 1996 alongside the second round of the parliamentary elections. Voters were asked whether they approved of an amendment to Article 47 of the constitution to add a paragraph allowing EU citizens to buy agricultural land. Although it was approved by 52% of those voting, voter turnout was only 39.7% and the referendum failed to pass the threshold of 50% of registered voters in favour.
A four-part referendum was held in Lithuania on 20 October 1996 alongside the first round of parliamentary elections. Voters were asked whether they approved of three amendments to the constitution and whether money from the sale of state property should be used to compensate those who lost their Soviet-era savings due to inflation. The three constitutional amendments would reduce the number of members of the Seimas, fix the date for elections to be in the spring, and to reserve at least 50% of government expenditure to social spending.
The United Kingdom European Union membership referendum, commonly referred to as the EU referendum or the Brexit referendum, took place on 23 June 2016 in the United Kingdom (UK) and Gibraltar to ask the electorate whether the country should remain a member of, or leave, the European Union (EU). It was organised and facilitated through the European Union Referendum Act 2015 and the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000. The referendum resulted in 51.9% of the votes cast being in favour of leaving the EU. Although the referendum was legally non-binding, the government of the time promised to implement the result.
Eleven national referendums were held in Switzerland during 2013. Voters approved six proposals related to spatial planning, executive pay, family policy, amendments to the laws on asylum and epidemics and an increase in the length of petrol station shop opening hours. The other five proposals on directly electing the Federal Council, abolishing compulsory military service, limiting salaries in a company to 12 times the lowest paid worker, tax credits for stay-at-home parents and an increase in road tax were rejected.
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.
This page lists the public opinion polls that were conducted in relation to the 2014 Scottish independence referendum, that was held on 18 September 2014. Overall, polls showed that support for a "No" vote was dominant until the end of August 2014, when support for a "Yes" vote gained momentum and the gap closed significantly, with at least one poll placing the "Yes" vote ahead. In the final week of the campaign, polls showed the "No" vote to be consistently but somewhat narrowly ahead. There were no exit polls although a YouGov post-election poll was published shortly after the polls closed. For the history of the campaign itself see 2014 Scottish independence referendum, Yes Scotland, and Better Together (campaign).
A referendum on banning same-sex marriage was held in Slovakia on 7 February 2015. Critics claimed the referendum was pushed by religious and conservative organisations, aiming to block gay couples from gaining more rights.
The Student Federation of the University of Ottawa was the student union representing undergraduate students at the University of Ottawa.
The European Union Referendum Act 2015 was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that made legal provision for a consultative referendum to be held in the United Kingdom and Gibraltar, on whether it should remain a member state of the European Union or leave the bloc altogether. The Bill was introduced to the House of Commons by Philip Hammond, Foreign Secretary on 28 May 2015. Two weeks later, the second reading of the Bill was supported by MPs from all parties except the SNP; the Bill subsequently passed on its third reading in the Commons on 7 September 2015. It was approved by the House of Lords on 14 December 2015, and given Royal Assent on 17 December 2015. The Act came partly into force on the same day and came into full legal force on 1 February 2016.
A referendum took place in Romania on 6 and 7 October 2018 regarding the definition of the family in the Romanian Constitution. The referendum asked voters whether or not they approve a change to the family's definition as provided by Article 48 of the Constitution, to prohibit same-sex marriage. At the same time, a name referendum was held in the Olt County for renaming it to "Olt-Romanați County".
A constitutional referendum was held in Lithuania on 12 May 2019, alongside the first round of the presidential elections. Two proposals were put to voters – one to reduce the number of MPs in the Seimas from 141 to 121 and one to allow Lithuanians to hold dual citizenship with a list of countries meeting "European or transatlantic integration criteria," which would be determined by law. In order for the first constitutional amendment to be passed, voter turnout was required to be above 50%, and at least 33.3% of registered voters would have to vote in favour of the proposal. For the second amendment, at least 50% of registered voters would have to vote in favour of the proposal.
Several federal referendums were held in Switzerland in 2020, with voting on 9 February, 27 September and 29 November. Voting was also planned for 17 May, but was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
