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Who administers direct democracy mechanisms at the national level?

Switzerland

Switzerland

Answer
  • Government
  • Legislature
Source

FEDERAL ACT ONPOLITICAL RIGHTS

(Adopted 1976; last amended 2009)

http://?www.?admin.?ch/?ch/?e/?rs/?161_?1/?index.?html

Title 2: Votes

Art. 10Organisation

(2) Each canton is responsible forthe conduct of the vote within its own territory and issues the requiredregulations.

Art. 11 Proposalssubmitted to a Vote of the People, Ballot Papers and Explanatory Statements

(1) The Confederation shallprovide the cantons with the proposals to be submitted to a vote of the Peopleand the ballot papers.

(2) Each proposal shall be accompanied by a short, objective explanation fromthe Federal Council, whichshall also take account of the opinions of significant minorities. The proposalmust contain the wording of the questions on the ballot paper. In the case ofpopular initiatives and referendums, the initiative committee shall inform theFederal Council of their arguments and the Federal Council shall take sucharguments into account in its explanatory statement…

Art. 15 Validation andPublication of the Result of the Vote

(1) The Federal Council shall ascertain the result of the vote (validation) as soon as it isestablished that no appeal against the vote has been filed with the FederalSupreme Court, or as soon as a decision has been made on such an appeal.

Title 4: TheReferendum;

Chapter 1:Mandatory Referendum

Art. 58 Publication

Enactments that are subject to a mandatoryreferendum shall be published following their adoption by the Federal Assembly.The Federal Councilshall order that a popular vote be held.

Chapter 2: TheOptional Referendum

Art. 59aSignificance of the Period

The request for a referendum must be submittedto the Federal Chancellerybefore expiry of the referendum period, either with the support of the numberof cantons required by the Constitution or furnished with the required numberof signatures and the certificates of eligibility to vote.

Art. 59c Popularvote

If the request for a referendum is successful,the Federal Councilshall order the organisation of a popular vote.

Title 5: The Popular Initiative

Art. 72 Successfulrequest for a popular initiative

(1) After expiry of the periodallowed for the collection of signatures, the Federal Chancellery shall establish whether thepopular initiative has obtained the required number of valid signatures…

Art. 75a Vote

(1) The Federal Council shall submit the popular initiative to a popular vote within ten months ofthe final vote thereon in the Federal Assembly, but at the latest ten monthsafter expiry of the statutory period allowed for Parliament to consider the popularvote.

(4) The procedure for dealing witha popular initiative to be followed by the Federal Council and the FederalAssembly and the deadlines that must be observed are governed by the provisionsof the Parliament Act of 13 December 2002.

FEDERAL ACT ONPARLIAMENT

(Adopted 2002; last amended 2011)

http://?www.?admin.?ch/?ch/?e/?rs/?c171_?10.?html

Art. 81. Final vote

(1) If both Councils have completed their examinationof a federal act, an ordinance of the Federal Assembly or a federal decree that issubject to a mandatory or an optional referendum and they have approved thewording that has been revised by the Drafting Committee, a final vote on thebill shall be held in each Council.

(2) If both Councils approve the bill then theenactment has been passed by the Federal Assembly.

Chapter 3:Procedure for Popular Initiatives

Section 1: PopularInitiative for the Complete Revision of the Federal Constitution

Art. 96 Where a popular initiative for the complete revision of theFederal Constitution is declared successful, the Federal Assembly shall submit the initiative tothe vote of the people.

Section 2: PopularInitiative for the Partial Revision of the Federal Constitution

a. GeneralProvisions

Art. 97 FederalCouncil dispatch and draft decree

(1) The Federal Council shall submit to the Federal Assembly:

  1. at the latest one year after submission of a successful popular initiative, a dispatch and the draft of a federal decree for the consideration of the Federal Assembly;

  2. at the latest one year after the approval of the people or of the Federal Assembly of an initiative submitted in the form of a general proposal, a dispatch and the draft of a federal decree for a partial revision of the Federal Constitution.

(2) If the Federal Council at the same time submits to the FederalAssembly a draft federal decree on a counter-proposal or a bill that is closelyrelated to the popular initiative, the foregoing period shall be extended to 18months.

(3) The Federal Assembly may begin its discussions before theFederal Council has submitted its dispatch and the draft of a Federal Decree.

ORDINANCE ONPOLITICAL RIGHTS

(Adopted 1978; last amended 2012)

http://www.admin.ch/opc/de/classified-compilation/19780105/index.html

2. Abschnitt: Abstimmungen

Art. 3 Vorbereitung

(1) Die Bundeskanzlei trifft die nach den gesetzlichenVorschriften zur Durchf?hrung der Abstimmung n?tigen Massnahmen.

(2) Sie arbeitet zusammen mit dem zust?ndigenDepartement die Erl?uterungen aus und unterbreitet sie dem Bundesrat zurBeschlussfassung.

4. Abschnitt: Referendum

Art. 20 Einreichung

(1) Die Unterschriftenlistensind nach Kantonen getrennt der Bundeskanzlei einzureichen.

(2) L?uft die Sammelfrist an einem Samstag,Sonntag oder anerkannten Feiertag ab, so kann das Referendum noch w?hrend derB?rozeit des n?chstfolgenden Werktags eingere


 

“Both forms of referendum [in Switzerland] have the character of a decision-controlling veto instrument. The issues themselves and the detailed legal regulations are subject to the legislative procedure.” (p. 21)

 

 

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