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What are the local referendums in Geneva and Zurich that will impact you?

In addition to two federal referendums on pensions, citizens in the cantons of Geneva and Zurich will head to the ballot box on March 3rd to vote on various matters of local importance.

Published: 14 February 2024 12:05 CET
What are the local referendums in Geneva and Zurich that will impact you?
Extensions to Zurich airport runways are just one of the questions being asked in cantonal referendums on March 3rd. Photo: Sebastien Bozon / AFP

Due to Switzerland’s system of direct democracy, legislative changes and changes to the cantonal and federal constitutions are decided through referendums. 

READ MORE: Direct democracy: How do Switzerland’s referendums actually work?

Let’s look at Geneva and Zurich, two cantons that have a high proportion of foreign residents.

Geneva

The biggest question on the ballot in Geneva on March 3rd relates to the Praille-Acacias-Vernets (PAV) urban development. 

Building law will need to be made to increase the number of condominiums that can be built on the site and restrict ownership to occupying tenants. 

The changes seek to increase apartment ownership in the region. 

A proposed halving of the tax on automobiles, introduced by the conservative Swiss People’s Party, will also be voted upon.

Another question seeks to reduce the number of signatures needed to change the constitution or instigate a referendum – currently at 3 and 2 percent of the population, respectively. They would be reduced to 2 and 1.5  percent if successful. 

These figures are adjusted and voted on yearly; Geneva is the only canton to do this. 

Finally, voters will decide whether ‘Cé qu’è lainô‘, Geneva’s unofficial anthem, will be enshrined in the constitution. With a whopping 62 verses, it recounts how the people of Geneva repulsed a Savoyard invasion in 1602. 

Zurich

Two questions dominate debate among those that the citizens of Zurich will vote on March 3rd. 

Primarily, voters will decide whether two runways at Zürich Airport will be lengthened by 480 and 200 metres, respectively. This is in response to a federal report following a near-miss between two Swissair aircraft in 2011. 

Voters will also vote on an initiative introduced by the Young SVP, the youth wing of the Switzerland’s conservative party. 

If passed, the ‘Anti-Chaoten’ measure would require protestors to obtain a permit for any planned demonstrations and hold them responsible for any costs incurred through property damage or additional required policing. 

READ MORE: Why has Switzerland set dates for referendums up to the year 2042?

A third referendum will decide whether a continuous pedestrian and cycling path will be established around Lake Zurich by 2050 at the cantonal government’s expense, with work done to secure and beautify the lake shore.

Finally, enhanced requirements will be put to the vote for those seeking to be elected to Zurich’s highest cantonal courts. If this constitutional amendment is successful, appointees must reside within the canton, have a law degree, and compulsorily retire at age 68. 

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For members

HEALTH INSURANCE

How Switzerland’s two crucial health insurance referendums could impact you

The price of Swiss health insurance premiums has been rising significantly in the past few years, prompting political parties to launch two cost-cutting initiatives. The votes will take place in June and there's a lot at stake.

Published: 24 April 2024 15:33 CEST
Updated: 28 April 2024 08:44 CEST
How Switzerland's two crucial health insurance referendums could impact you

On June 9th, the Swiss will cast their votes on two issues aiming, though in different ways, to curb the continually increasing cost of the obligatory health insurance (KVG / LaMal).

This is what’s at stake.

The ’10-percent’ initiative

In view of the high (and rising) premiums and other costs of living, which eat up a big chunk of the budgets of low- and middle-income consumers, the Social Democratic Party has spearheaded a national vote to cap the insurance rates at 10 percent of income.

Anything over this limit should be paid for by the federal and cantonal government, the party says.

While this strategy may sound enticing to everyone tired of paying high premiums, the government warns that while this proposal looks good on paper, the ‘yes’ vote could unleash some serious consequences.

Its main argument is that this measure would cost several billion francs per year, and does not provide any incentives to control health costs.

Instead, the Federal Council and the parliament have concocted their own ‘counter initiative’ that they want voters to approve.

Under this proposal, cantons will have to increase the amount of financial help they pay toward health premiums for low-income people. 

READ ALSO: How do I apply for health insurance benefits in Switzerland?

‘For Lower Premiums’ initiative

For its part, the Centre party has come up with its own proposal to reduce health insurance costs, which will also be voted on June 9th.

It provides for a ‘brake’ on health costs, which should evolve according to the economy and wages.

This brake would work in the same way as the federal spending brake. Therefore, when healthcare costs exceed wages for a given year by 20 percent, the government must take action to bring the  costs down.

The government is asking voters to turn down the Centre’s proposal because it doesn’t take into account factors such as demography, technological progress in healthcare, as well as the dependence of salaries on economic developments.

Here too, the Federal Council and parliament have put out their own counter-project, providing for more targeted measures, including specific cost control objectives for healthcare services.

Are there any other proposals on the table aiming to curb the cost of insurance premiums?

Yes.

While they are not on the ballot, two ideas have been debated in past months.

One calls for scrapping multiple private carriers  in favour of a government-run single health insurance scheme, similar to that in the EU. 

The other idea floating around is to replace the current system where rates are determined by factors such as age and canton of residence, and base them on wages instead. 

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