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March 2024 Swiss referendums | ||
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| Initiative for a 13th OASI pension payment | ||
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| Pensions Initiative (retirement age) | ||
| Maps | ||
  Results by canton Yes 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90% No 50–60% 60–70% 80–90% | ||
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 Switzerlandportal |
Several referendums were held in Switzerland during 2024. National votes were held on 3 March, 9 June, and 22 September, and others were held on 24 November. [1]
Two national referendums were held on 3 March 2024. Both were related to the pension system.
The Swiss government recommended voters to reject both referendums, however polls showed voters were likely to accept the first initiative and reject the second, [4] which was also the final result. [5]
| Question | For | Against | Invalid/ blank | Total votes | Registered voters | Turnout | Outcome | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Votes | % | Cantons | Votes | % | Cantons | ||||||||
| Initiative for a 13th OASI pension payment | 1,884,096 | 58.25 | 14+2⁄2 | 1,350,325 | 41.75 | 6+4⁄2 | 28,758 | 3,263,179 | 5,591,446 | 58.36 | Approved | ||
| Pensions Initiative (retirement age) | 808,578 | 25.25 | 0 | 2,393,930 | 74.75 | 20+6⁄2 | 47,547 | 3,250,055 | 58.13 | Rejected | |||
| Source: Federal Chancellery [6] | |||||||||||||
Four referendum votes were held on 9 June 2024; two were regarding health insurance premiums, one regarding vaccinations, and one against a recent law concerning sustainable energy. [7]
| Question | For | Against | Invalid/ blank | Total votes | Registered voters | Turnout | Outcome | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Votes | % | Cantons | Votes | % | Cantons | ||||||||
| Premium Relief Initiative | 1,116,910 | 44.53 | 7+1⁄2 | 1,391,413 | 55.47 | 13+5⁄2 | 45.42 | Rejected | |||||
| Cost-Brake Initiative | 927,322 | 37.23 | 5+0⁄2 | 1,563,379 | 62.77 | 15+6⁄2 | 45.37 | Rejected | |||||
| Initiative for Freedom and Physical Integrity | 654,996 | 26.27 | 0+0⁄2 | 1,838,538 | 73.73 | 20+6⁄2 | 45.34 | Rejected | |||||
| Federal Act on Secure Electricity Supply from Renewable Energy Sources | 1,717,387 | 68.72 | 20+6⁄2 | 781,769 | 31.28 | 0+0⁄2 | 45.39 | Approved | |||||
| Source: Federal Chancellery [8] | |||||||||||||
Two national referendums were held on 22 September 2024 to vote on a reform of occupational pension schemes and a biodiversity initiative. [9] [10]
The reform of occupational pension schemes was supported by the government and opposed by the left-wing parties and trade unions. [11] [12] The biodiversity initiative had been tabled by nature and environmental protection associations, and opposed by a broad alliance of the main right-wing and centrist parties, farming circles and economic organisations. [11]
Both referendums were rejected by voters. [13] [14]
| Question | For | Against | Invalid/ blank | Total votes | Registered voters | Turnout | Outcome | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Votes | % | Cantons | Votes | % | Cantons | ||||||||
| Biodiversity Initiative | 926,159 | 36.97 | 1+1⁄2 | 1,579,316 | 63.03 | 19+5⁄2 | 45.19 | Rejected | |||||
| Occupational Pension Reform | 810,777 | 32.88 | 0+0⁄2 | 1,655,316 | 67.12 | 20+6⁄2 | 45.04 | Rejected | |||||
| Source: Federal Chancellery [15] | |||||||||||||
Four referendums [16] took place on 24 November, including one on three new motorways and tunnel expansions, one on changes to rental contracts, one on a decision by parliament to fix rates at which cantons can fund healthcare. [17] A referendum was also held in Basel-Stadt whether to approve the grant of 34.96 million Swiss francs ($39.5 million) by cantonal authorities for the hosting of the Eurovision Song Contest 2025 in Basel. [18]
Results showed negative results for additional road infrastructure and rent changes, while approving changes to healthcare funding. [19] The cantonal referendum in Basel also passed with 66.4% of voters in favour. [20]
| Question | For | Against | Invalid/ blank | Total votes | Registered voters | Turnout | Outcome | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Votes | % | Cantons | Votes | % | Cantons | ||||||||
| Expansion programme for the national highways | 1,181,557 | 47.30 | 7+4⁄2 | 1,316,500 | 52.70 | 13+2⁄2 | 45.05 | Rejected | |||||
| Tenancy Law: Subletting | 1,196,640 | 48.42 | 11+5⁄2 | 1,274,814 | 51.58 | 9+1⁄2 | 44.89 | Rejected | |||||
| Tenancy Law: Termination to permit personal use | 1,141,741 | 46.17 | 10+4⁄2 | 1,331,128 | 53.83 | 10+2⁄2 | 44.90 | Rejected | |||||
| Health Insurance Act: Standardised financing of benefits | 1,302,528 | 53.31 | 14+6⁄2 | 1,140,791 | 46.69 | 6+0⁄2 | 44.87 | Approved | |||||
| Source: Federal Chancellery [21] | |||||||||||||
Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland is geographically divided among the Swiss Plateau, the Alps and the Jura; the Alps occupy the greater part of the territory, whereas most of the country's population of 9 million are concentrated on the plateau, which hosts its largest cities and economic centres, including Zurich, Geneva, and Basel.
Same-sex marriage has been legal in Switzerland since 1 July 2022. Legislation to open marriage to same-sex couples passed the Swiss Parliament in December 2020. The law was challenged in a referendum on 26 September 2021 by opponents of same-sex marriage and was approved with the support of 64% of voters and a majority in all 26 cantons. The law went into force on 1 July 2022. A provision of the law permitting same-sex marriages performed abroad to be recognised in Switzerland took effect on 1 January 2022. Switzerland was the seventeenth country in Europe and the 30th in the world to allow same-sex couples to marry.
Voting in Switzerland is the process by which Swiss citizens make decisions about governance and elect officials. The history of voting rights in Switzerland mirrors the complexity of the nation itself. The polling stations are opened on Saturdays and Sunday mornings but most people vote by post in advance. At noon on Sunday, voting ends and the results are usually known during the afternoon.
Switzerland is not a member state of the European Union (EU). It is associated with the Union through a series of bilateral treaties in which Switzerland has adopted various provisions of European Union law in order to participate in the Union's single market, without joining as a member state. Among Switzerland's neighbouring countries, all but one are EU member states.
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) rights in Switzerland are some of the most progressive by world standards. Social attitudes and the legal situation have liberalised at an increasing pace since the 1940s, in parallel to the situation in Europe and the Western world more generally. Legislation providing for same-sex marriage, same-sex adoption, and IVF access was accepted by 64% of voters in a referendum on 26 September 2021, and entered into force on 1 July 2022.
Nuclear power in Switzerland is generated by three nuclear power plants, with a total of four operational reactors (see list below). Since 1985, nuclear power has been contributing approximately 40% of Switzerland's electrical energy. In 2022, it produced 23 terawatt-hours (TWh) of electricity, and accounted for 37% of the nation's gross electricity generation of 62 TWh, while 55% was produced by hydroelectric plants and 8% came from conventional thermal power stations and non-hydro renewable energy sources.
The Group for a Switzerland without an army, is a Swiss political advocacy group founded in 1982 by 120 activists in order to abolish the Swiss army. Its roster has varied considerably; as of 2009 its website stated that it consists of about 20,000 members or supporters, consisting largely of pacifists and anti-militarists.
Ten referendums were held in Switzerland during 2008. The first two were held on 24 February on business tax reform and aircraft noise. A further three were held on 1 June on public information campaigns, naturalisation and health reform. The final five were held on 30 November on legalising cannabis, making the pension age flexible, restricting the right of appeal of associations against construction projects, amending the constitutional article on narcotics and eliminating the statute of limitations with respect to pornographic crimes against children.
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.
Six referendums were held in Switzerland during 2010; three in March on pension funds, animal protection and a constitutional amendment, one in September on unemployment benefits, and two in November on deporting foreign criminals and introducing a canton tax.
Twelve national referendums were held in Switzerland during 2012. On 11 March, voters across the country were asked five questions on employment leave, second houses, building society savings, the Fixed Book Price Agreement and gambling revenues. On 17 June, there were three questions on healthcare, foreign policy and home buying. On 23 September, there were three on a smoking ban, secure housing in old age and music lessons at school. A final referendum was held on 25 November on the Animal Diseases Act.
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.
Twelve national referendums were held in Switzerland during 2014.
Thirteen national referendums were held in Switzerland during 2016.
Non-citizen suffrage in Switzerland is an ongoing political issue in the country. Switzerland is a federal nation. As such, the cantons have extensive powers to enact their own legislation. For this reason, the rules regarding the rights of non-citizen residents to vote differ considerably throughout Switzerland.
Seven national referendums were held in Switzerland during 2017. Polling took place on 12 February, 21 May and 24 September, whilst no referendum was scheduled for the November date.
Ten national referendums were held in Switzerland in 2018. Voting took place on 4 March, 10 June, 23 September and 25 November.
Federal referendums were held in Switzerland on 13 February, 15 May and 25 September 2022. Swiss referendums take three forms: popular initiatives, which are citizen proposals to create a new law and require 100,000 valid signatures on a petition to get on the ballot; facultative or optional referendums, which are citizen proposals to approve or reject a piece of existing law and require 50,000 valid signatures on a petition to get on the ballot; and mandatory referendums, which are required to revise the constitution, join an international organization or introduce emergency federal legislation for over a year.
Several referendums were held in Switzerland during 2023. National votes were held on 18 June, and others are due to be held on 22 October and 26 November.
Events in the year 2024 in Switzerland.
