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Covid-19 law: How Switzerland reacted to the referendum results

Mostly positive feedback has poured in after the majority of Swiss voters backed their government’s pandemic management policy on Sunday.

Published: 29 November 2021 10:36 CET
Swiss voters have firmly backed the Covud-19 law
Protesters demonstrate in front of the parliament in Bern following the result a nationwide vote on a Covid-19 law November 28, 2021. Photo by Fabrice COFFRINI / AFP

After a heated political campaign, 62 percent of voters opposed attempts by some groups to scrap Switzerland’s regulations to combat the pandemic.

Opponents of the Covid-19 legislation, and specifically the revision pertaining to the Covid certificate, launched the nationwide referendum, claiming the certificate requirement that is currently in place until at least January 24th, 2022 creates discrimination and division within society and implicitly forces vaccination.

READ MORE: What’s at stake in Switzerland’s Covid referendum on November 28th?

Most political parties, along with business groups, praised the referendum results.

“Democracy works,” said Health Minister Alain Berset, adding that the referendum  “is an important signal for the pandemic policy of the cantons, parliament and the Federal Council”.

This positive reaction is shared by middle-of-the-road and left-leaning parties alike.

Die Mitte / Le Centre party tweeted that it is reassured by the referendum’s outcome “and will continue to engage in constructive solutions to fight the pandemic”.

As for the Liberals (FDP/PLR),  they “welcome the strong support of the Swiss for the Covid-19 law, thus making it possible to fight effectively against the pandemic and its consequences…the legitimacy of the law is clearly established”.

Social Democrats praised “the confirmation of the policy to combat the health, economic and social effects of the pandemic”, while for the Greens ”this pragmatic ‘yes’ to the Covid law means that the electorate does not want to make a clean sweep of all the management of the crisis”.

The reaction is also positive in the economic circles.

The Swiss Employers’ Association said government measures “have proved their worth and will not be abruptly interrupted”.

Trade unions are also praising the results of the vote, because it “takes into account the interests of society and the economy”, according to the Swiss Union of Arts and Crafts.

As for Swiss Trade Union Federation, “it welcomes the decision of the people in view of the very unpredictable evolution of the epidemic. The guarantee of jobs and wages must continue to go hand in hand with all the necessary actions to stem the spread of the pandemic”.

However, not everyone in Switzerland is happy with the results.

The right-wing Swiss People’s Party (SVP), the only one of Switzerland’s parties to oppose the Covid legislation, said that “it takes note of the voters’ ‘yes’ to the tightened Covid-19 law with regret. It also warned that  the ensuing “social unrest can cause with unforeseeable consequences”.

The Friends of the Constitution, the group which spearheaded the anti-Covid law referendum, criticised the “disinformation” which preceded the vote and vowed to continue it opposition to the law.

READ MORE: Swiss voters back Covid pass law

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POLITICS

Could Geneva be first Swiss canton to grant foreign residents more voting rights?

Voters in the country’s most "international" canton Geneva will soon have their say on whether non-Swiss citizens living in their midst should have more political rights.

Published: 29 April 2024 12:19 CEST
Could Geneva be first Swiss canton to grant foreign residents more voting rights?

Foreigners are not allowed to vote on national level anywhere in Switzerland.

Though there had been attempts in the past to change this rule, the latest such move was turned down by legislators in 2022.

However, five cantons are permitting foreign residents to cast their votes in local referendums and elections: Geneva, Vaud, Fribourg, Neuchâtel, and Jura. Conditions vary from one canton to another, but in all cases a certain length of stay and a residence permit are required.

(In Zurich, a similar move was rejected in 2023).

Of the five cantons, only Neuchâtel and Jura authorise foreign residents to vote on cantonal level in addition to communal one; in the others, they can cast municipal ballots only. 

Additionally, three other cantons have similar laws on their books, but they this legislation remains mostly inactive.

Basel-City, Graubünden, and Appenzell-Ausserrhoden have authorised their communes to introduce the right to vote, the right to elect, and the right to be elected for their non-Swiss residents. 

However, only few of the communes in these cantons have actually introduced these measures.

Wait…Geneva’s foreigners already have the right to vote?

Yes, they have had this right since 2005, but only on municipal level.

However, this could change on June 9th, when Geneva residents will go to the polls to weigh in on an initiative launched by the trade unions and political left, calling for foreigners who have lived in the canton for at least eight years, to be able to vote and stand as candidates for political offices at the cantonal level.

This ‘upgrade’ to the cantonal voting rights is important, supporters argue, because it would enable foreigners to have more political impact.

“Municipal votes are quite rare, and the issues at stake are relatively limited,” the initiative committee said.

Therefore, “access to the cantonal vote will allow these same people to express their views on wider subjects that affect them on a daily basis.”

Is this  measure likely to be accepted?

No reliable forecasts exist at this point.

And while foreigners constitute nearly 40 percent of Geneva’s population — the highest proportion in Switzerland —  it will be up to Swiss citizens to decide on the outcome.

However, some members of the Geneva parliament are urging the ‘no’ vote on June 9th.

“No canton, no country, provides such generous rights to their foreigners,” the MPs from the centre parties pointed out in an interview with Tribune de Genève over the weekend.

(Neuchâtel and Jura allow voting, but not standing for election, at cantonal level).

“The only path for foreigners to obtain full political rights is through naturalisation,” the MPs added.

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