A referendum is a direct vote in which an entire electorate is invited to vote on a particular proposal. This may result in the adoption of a new law. In some countries, it is synonymous with a plebiscite or a vote on a ballot question.
Germany is a federal republic consisting of sixteen states. Since today's Germany was formed from an earlier collection of several states, it has a federal constitution, and the constituent states retain a measure of sovereignty. With an emphasis on geographical conditions, Berlin and Hamburg are frequently called Stadtstaaten (city-states), as is the Free Hanseatic City of Bremen, which in fact includes the cities of Bremen and Bremerhaven. The remaining 13 states are called Flächenländer.
A constitutional amendment is a modification of the constitution of a polity, organization or other type of entity. Amendments are often interwoven into the relevant sections of an existing constitution, directly altering the text. Conversely, they can be appended to the constitution as supplemental additions (codicils), thus changing the frame of government without altering the existing text of the document.
The Constitution of Latvia, ratified on February 15, 1922, contains a provision regarding one of the reserve powers of the President of Latvia to initiate the dissolution of the parliament. According to Article 48-50 of the Constitution,
Elections in Benin take place within the framework of a multi-party democracy and a presidential system. Both the President and the National Assembly are directly elected by voters, with elections organised by the Autonomous National Electoral Commission (CENA).
A constitutional referendum was held in Chile on 11 September 1980. The proposed new constitution would replace the 1925 constitution, and was approved by over two-thirds of voters.
A referendum on establishing a Constituent Assembly to write the new constitution was held in Ecuador on 15 April 2007. After its approval by 87% of voters, a Constituent Assembly Election was held on 30 September 2007 with Correa's PAIS Alliance taking the majority of seats. The assembly was to sit for a maximum of 180 days with a possible 60-day-extension.
The Group for a Switzerland without an Army, is a group working to reduce the military activities of Switzerland. The Group was created in Solothurn on 12 September 1982 by 120 people. Its roster has varied considerably; as of 2009 its website states that it consists of about 20,000 members or supporters, consisting largely of pacifists and anti-militarists.
A constitutional referendum was held in Ecuador on 28 September 2008 to ratify or reject the constitution drafted by the Ecuadorian Constituent Assembly elected in 2007. The new constitution was approved by 69% of voters.
The Constitution of the Republic of the Union of Myanmar is the supreme law of Myanmar. Myanmar's first constitution adopted by constituent assembly was enacted for the Union of Burma in 1947. After the 1962 Burmese coup d'état, a second constitution was enacted in 1974. The country has been ruled by military juntas for most of its history.
The Moldovan referendum of 2010 was a nationwide referendum in Moldova held on 5 September on whether or not the country should amend the Constitution of Moldova to return to direct popular election of the president. Since 2001, the president had been indirectly elected by Parliament, with a supermajority of 61 seats required for election.. The voters are asked to answer the following question "Would you agree with the Constitutional amendment, which would allow the election of the President of the Republic of Moldova by the entire population?", voting for one of the proposed options: “Yes (for)” or “No (against)”. Of those who had cast their vote, 87.83% chose "Yes". However, the referendum did not pass because only 30.29% of voters turned out, short of the necessary 33% for the referendum to be considered valid.
The 1993 Brazilian constitutional referendum was held on April 21, 1993 to determine the form of government of the country. After the re-democratization of Brazil, an article in the new Constitution determined the holding of a referendum for voters to decide if the country should have a republican or a monarchical form of Government, and if the system of Government should be that of a presidential Executive or that of parliamentary government.
A constitutional referendum was held in Palau on 9 July 1979. The new constitution was approved by 92% of voters, and came into force on 1 January 1981.
Five referendums were held in Switzerland in 1891. The first was held on 15 March on a federal law on federal officials who had become unemployable due to disability, and was rejected by 79.4% of voters. The second was held on 5 July on a constitutional amendment, and was approved by 60.3% of voters. Two referendums were held on 18 October, one on revising article 39 of the federal constitution and one on a federal law on Swiss tariffs; both were approved. The last was held on 6 December on the question of whether the federal government should purchase the Swiss central railway, but was rejected by 68.9% of voters.
A constitutional referendum was held in Ecuador on 1 July 1869 to ratify or reject the constitution drafted by the Ecuadorian Constituent Assembly elected earlier in 1869. The country's eighth constitution, known as the Black Charter, was approved by 13,640 of the 14,154 voters.
A constitutional referendum was held in the Philippines on 14 November 1967. On 16 March 1967 Congress decided that a Constitutional Convention would be elected in 1971. In preparation for the election, two amendments to the constitution were proposed beforehand. Voters were asked whether they approved of two amendments to the Constitution of the Philippines; one to increase the number of members of the House of Representatives from 120 to 180, and one to allow members of Congress to be elected to Constitutional Conventions without giving up their Congress seats. A petition seeking to stop the referendum was filed before the Supreme Court, but was dismissed five days before the referendum. Both proposals were rejected by voters.
A referendum on political reforms was held in Andorra on 16 January 1978. Voters were presented with two options, but the none of the above option received the most votes.
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.
An Icelandic Constitutional Council (Stjórnlagaráð) for the purpose of reviewing the Constitution of the Republic was appointed by a resolution of Althingi, the Icelandic parliament, on 24 March 2011. Elections were held to create a Constitutional Assembly (Stjórnlagaþing) body, but given some electoral flaws, had been ruled null and void by the Supreme Court of Iceland on 25 January 2011, leading the parliament to place most of the wining candidate into a Council with similar mission. The question of whether the text of the proposed constitution should form a base for a future constitution was put to a non-binding referendum, where it won the approval of 67% of voters. However, the government's term finished before the reform bill could be passed, and the next government has not acted upon it.
