The Swiss appeared Sunday to have voted down a divisive anti-immigration proposal to cap the country’s population, early projections showed.
Shortly after polls closed at noon, initial projections from GFS Bern indicated around 55 percent opposition to the initiative, which had sparked warnings of “chaos” and devastating impacts for the Swiss economy and European Union relations.
This is in line with those from Tamedia, which put the ‘no’ vote at 54.9 percent.
The rejection of the initiative is “an enormous relief,” Social Democratic (SP) party co-president Cédric Wermuth told 20 Minuten, saying that the campaign had affected him very deeply.
“I have rarely experienced so much anger and hatred,” he said, adding that a great deal of pressure had now been lifted.
“This is an important result for our country and for our relations with the EU,” agreed Monika Ruhl, director of the employers’ organisation economiesuisse, speaking to public broadcaster RTS.
“In the end, the arguments were convincing that a rigid cap is not a solution. The people don’t want that,” said Yvonne Bürgin, parliamentary group leader of the Centre Party in the National Council (Zurich).
However, should the initiative actually be rejected, this should not be the end of the debate, but rather a mandate for politicians. “We must take the growing pains seriously,” she added.
Opinion polls had suggested that the vote, held under Switzerland’s direct democracy system, would be tight.
The contentious campaign by the hard-right SVP had sought to drastically reduce the influx of foreigners to Switzerland, to prevent the country’s population from exceeding the 10-million mark before 2050. The wealthy Alpine nation’s population currently stands at 9.1 million.
The populist party, which stood alone on this campaign, said higher numbers would overburden key infrastructure, such as housing, public transport, the health system, and schools.
‘Strong turnout in cities’
The expected ‘no’ vote against the proposal is largely due to its clear defeat in French-speaking Switzerland, said Lucas Golder, political scientist at GFS Bern, broadcaster SRF reported.
Strong turnout in cities due to the implications of a ‘yes’ vote for the economy and bilateral agreements corrected the ‘yes’ trend in rural areas, he explained.
But despite projections pointing towards a rejection of the initiative, SVP president Marcel Dettling remained undeterred. “The final tally won’t be in until the evening. But if it really stays this way, it’s a bad result for Switzerland,” he told 20 Minuten.
Swiss ‘Brexit’
Before the vote, SVP parliamentarian Yvan Pahud highlighted to AFP that “Switzerland is a small country that cannot be expanded”.
We “do not want to welcome all of Europe”.
“The stakes are very high,” Swiss Justice Minister Beat Jans had told the Tribune de Geneve newspaper before the vote, warning that the vote could provoke the equivalent of a Swiss “Brexit”.
At the time of writing, data on official Swiss voting app VoteInfo showed that 53.21 percent of votes were against the ‘No to 10 million’ initiative with the proportion of ‘yes’ and ‘no’ votes quite evenly split between the cantons.
For the proposal to pass, it would need to win not just a majority of votes cast but also majorities in more than half of Switzerland’s 26 cantons.
READ ALSO: Everything you need to know to understand Switzerland’s ‘No to 10 million vote’
Over 65 percent of those in Geneva voted down the anti-immigration proposal, 62.94 percent in Neuchâtel and 62.66 percent in Vaud.
Basel-Stadt had the highest proportion of people voting against it so far, however, with an overwhelming ‘no’ vote of 73.25 percent.
Conscientious objection vote set to pass
The Swiss also voted Sunday on a bill passed by parliament to make civilian service less attractive and less accessible, at a time when the war in Ukraine and other geopolitical tensions are pushing European countries to bolster army numbers.
Initial projections from GFS Bern showed that the referendum would pass with 53 percent in favour, although the institute highlighted that the margin of error was three percent, meaning the final outcome remained uncertain.
It was the political left in the militarily neutral country that called the referendum. They argue the bill is dangerous and could ultimately lead to the alternative to military service being scrapped altogether.
Switzerland has compulsory military service for men. They serve in a unique militia system in which army conscripts do at least four months’ service before being called up repeatedly over a decade for weeks-long refresher sessions.
People who conscientiously oppose military service have since 1996 been permitted to perform civilian service instead.
Since access to civilian service was simplified in 2009, the numbers choosing that option have steadily climbed – a trend the government warns has become “problematic”.
With reporting by AFP
