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Court overturns referendum as voters were poorly informed ... in Switzerland
Source: The Guardian
Court overturns referendum as voters were poorly informed ... in Switzerland
Incomplete detail and lack of transparency invalidated vote on tax laws, says supreme court
Jon Henley Europe correspondent
Thu 11 Apr 2019 16.47 BST First published on Thu 11 Apr 2019 16.19 BST
Switzerland’s supreme court has overturned a nationwide referendum for the first time in the country’s modern history, on the grounds that the information given to voters was insufficient.
In a ruling that may resonate in Britain, where remain campaigners have long argued that voters in the 2016 Brexit referendum were not adequately informed, the court said incomplete detail and a lack of transparency had violated the freedom of the vote, which could now be re-run.
“Given the tight outcome of the vote and the seriousness of the irregularities, it is possible that the result of the ballot would have been different,” the federal court said. It was the first time a result had been annulled in Switzerland, which has held about 300 referendums since 1848.
The Christian Democratic party, which had proposed the February 2016 vote on whether Switzerland’s tax regime unfairly penalised married couples, lodged an appeal against the result last year, saying voters had been misled.
-snip-
Incomplete detail and lack of transparency invalidated vote on tax laws, says supreme court
Jon Henley Europe correspondent
Thu 11 Apr 2019 16.47 BST First published on Thu 11 Apr 2019 16.19 BST
Switzerland’s supreme court has overturned a nationwide referendum for the first time in the country’s modern history, on the grounds that the information given to voters was insufficient.
In a ruling that may resonate in Britain, where remain campaigners have long argued that voters in the 2016 Brexit referendum were not adequately informed, the court said incomplete detail and a lack of transparency had violated the freedom of the vote, which could now be re-run.
“Given the tight outcome of the vote and the seriousness of the irregularities, it is possible that the result of the ballot would have been different,” the federal court said. It was the first time a result had been annulled in Switzerland, which has held about 300 referendums since 1848.
The Christian Democratic party, which had proposed the February 2016 vote on whether Switzerland’s tax regime unfairly penalised married couples, lodged an appeal against the result last year, saying voters had been misled.
-snip-
Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/apr/11/switzerland-court-overturns-referendum-as-voters-were-poorly-informed
