Aside from the national referendums on September 28th, Swiss citizens will also cast their votes on various issues locally. This is what’s at stake in cities and cantons..
On the federal level, voters will have their say on two key issues: electronic identity cards and imputed rental value tax:
READ ALSO: What’s at stake in Switzerland’s September referendums?
Voters will also weigh in on some issues of local importance.
Let’s start with the one most pertinent to international residents: quicker access to voting rights for foreigners in Vaud.
An initiative to facilitate the municipal political rights of foreigners in Vaud has been accepted by both the Grand Council and the Council of State.
The proposal aims to shorten the period of residence required to vote and hold elections at the communal level, from the current 10 years in Switzerland and three years in the canton, to five years in Switzerland, and one year in the canton.
While left and centre parties, which instigated this move, are in favour of this change, the populist Swiss People Party (SVP) is not.
“The right to vote is the culmination of the integration process; it is acquired with Swiss nationality,” the party’s Vaud section said on its website, adding, “We are clearly against this.”
Basel-City
Closer relations with the EU
Possibly because Basel straddles two EU countries – Germany and France – left-wingers would like the cantonal constitution to include its commitment to “good and stable” relations between Switzerland and the European Union.
For the supporters, this is more than a symbolic act: they see this “as a clear signal for an open European policy and a binding mandate for the government.”
Opponents – again the SVP – see things differently.
They call it a “silly initiative” and a “waste of taxpayers’ money.”
“Cooperation with neighboring countries is already well regulated; an additional constitutional article is unnecessary,” they say.
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Solothurn
Families living in this canton could soon receive childcare vouchers, which can be redeemed at daycare centres or after-school care facilities.
The amount of financial support will depend on the family’s income and assets.
Municipalities will finance the vouchers, and the canton will contribute 40 percent of the costs. Approximately 90 percent of families would benefit
from this move.
However, opponents – namely the Radical-Liberal Party – say this measure will incur massive additional costs and will lead to an increase in cantonal taxes, urging the ‘no’ vote.
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Zurich
Here, two municipal issues will be voted on.
One concerns an initiative calling for public transport subscriptions for adult city residents to be capped at 365 francs – as opposed to 809 francs currently.
For children and young people, the cost should be reduced to instead of 586 francs.
And then there s this:
The local Green Party wants voters to ban the use of leaf blowers, except in the autumn.
That’s because these gasoline-powered devices are not only loud but also bad for the environment, hey argue.
If the voters accept this, only electric models would be permitted in Zurich, and only during the three months of October, November, and December.
For the SVP, however, the planned leaf blower ban is a “parody of democracy.”
