Democracy assitance & elections news from the Consortium for Elections and Political Process Strengthening (CEPPS)
Calendar

Election Profile:

Flag of Switzerland Source for election date

At stake in this Referendum:

  • Referendum on the renewal of Switzerland's agreement with the European Union on the free movement of peoples, as well as on the approval of a protocol to extend the agreement on free movement to Romania and Bulgaria.

Description of government structure:

  • Chief of State: President Hanz-Rudolf MERZ *
  • Head of Government: President Hanz-Rudolf MERZ
  • Assembly: Switzerland has a bicameral Federal Assembly (Bundesversammlung, Assemblée Fédérale) consisting of the Council of States (Standerat, Conseil des Etats, or Consiglio degli Stati) with 46 seats* and the National Council (Nationalrat, Conseil National, or Consiglio Nazionale) with 200 seats.

* The President is elected by the Federal Council and serves a one-year term.

* The Council of States consists of 46 members. Two representatives are elected by a simple majority vote from each of the 20 cantons and one is elected from each of the six half-cantons.

Main provisions in the of the Referendum:

  • [[0.1.provision_at_stake]][[0.1.provision_comments_note]] [[0.1.provision_desc]] [[0.1.provision_desc_foreign]]

Electoral Requirements

  • An absolute majority of voters must vote "yes" in order for the EU agreement to be renewed and extended to include Romania and Bulgaria.

Population and number of registered voters:

  • Population: 7,554,661 (July 2007 est.)
  • Registered Voters: 4,891,363 (February 2009 )

Last Updated on 07/12/2010

print this page     |     Email a friend

Search Elections




Advanced Search

Featured on the Digest

Get Updates

Follow us on Twitter