National Council Presidium
Council of States Presidency
Parliament building
3003 Bern
Zurich, November 26, 2021
Open letter: Continue to ensure exercise of political rights in COVID crisis
Dear Council Presidia
The COVID pandemic is not only a stress test for our society, the economy and the health system, but also for our direct democracy. The undersigned citizens are very concerned about the negative consequences for political rights. Because with "social distancing" and other protective measures in public space, collecting signatures for popular initiatives and referendums has become less secure, more complex and more expensive. The aggravated conditions have meant that popular initiatives, such as the recent micro-tax initiative, stumble before the finish line. In addition, the number of plebiscites launched has decreased significantly compared to previous years.
In September 2020, the Federal Parliament recognized the seriousness of the situation and created a legal basis for effective measures. Article 2 of the COVID-19 Act allowed the Federal Council to issue a time limit for the submission of signature lists for optional referendums without a voting certificate at the Federal Chancellery. The Federal Council immediately put this measure into effect to safeguard political rights. At the suggestion of the State Political Commission of the National Council, this regulation was expanded to include popular initiatives on March 20, 2021.
This article will expire at the end of the year, which means that the measures to protect political rights will expire. At the same time, the pandemic situation is coming to a head again and is making it more difficult to collect signatures due to the behavioral and hygiene measures. As a result, ongoing referendums and popular initiatives in the collection phase threaten to fail.
Since the COVID pandemic and the measures to combat it are ongoing, it is urgently necessary to continue to exempt referendums and popular initiatives from the obligation to provide certification. The undersigned of the open letter bit you to keep the mentioned Article 2 Covid-19 Act (21,066), attached below, in force for another year.
Arts. 2 para. 1
1 In order to support the exercise of political rights, the Federal Council can provide that referendum and initiative requests with the necessary number of signatures, but also without a voting certificate, must be submitted to the Federal Chancellery within the referendum and initiative period.
Thank you very much for your attention and in the confidence that the federal councilors will adopt effective measures to preserve political rights in close cooperation with the Federal Council and the cantons, we remain with kind regards
Sophie Fürst, Claudio Kuster, Lucy Köchlin, Marco Kistler and Daniel Graf
Board of Trustees, Foundation for Direct Democracy
Copy to:
- Federal Chancellor Walter Thurnherr
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