In previous opinion polls, a right-wing initiative to curb immigration from the EU enjoyed a solid backing from Swiss voters. What do the most recent figures reveal ahead of June’s vote?
Though the government, the majority of political parties, economists, trade unions, and employers’ associations are urging voters to reject the Swiss People’s Party’s (SVP) proposal to drastically limit the number of foreigners coming to Switzerland, nearly half of Swiss citizens support the measure.
READ MORE: Who is leading the fight in Switzerland against the anti-immigration proposal?
Too close to call
According to a poll carried out among nearly 18,000 voters by the Tamedia media group on March 8th – that is, about five weeks before the referendum on June 14th – 47 percent of respondents said they were against the SVP proposal, while 45 percent supported it.
The ‘pro’ and ‘against’ numbers have changed somewhat since the last poll was conducted in December 2025, in which 48 percent of respondents said they were in favour of the proposal.
However, 8 percent of those surveyed in the March poll had not yet made up their minds on this issue, which means that the vote could go either way.
What is clear right now is that whoever wins, it will likely be by a very narrow margin.
READ MORE: What exactly does the Swiss ‘no to 10 million’ anti-immigration proposal aim to do?
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Crunching the numbers
According to this latest poll, the 18-34 age group would most likely accept the SVP initiative: 48 percent would vote yes, compared to 41 percent who are against it.
But the older the respondents get, the more likely they are to say no: only 40 percent of those over 65 are in favour of limiting immigration, while 56 percent are against it.
A clear difference is also observed based on where the voters live.
About 57 percent of city dwellers are strongly opposed to the initiative, compared to 36 percent who support it.
Conversely, 49 percent of respondents living in rural areas support the proposal, while 43 percent oppose it.
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Not surprisingly, many people vote along their political affiliations.
The latest poll shows that SVP supporters therefore overwhelmingly support their party’s position, with 88 percent of them planning to vote ‘yes.’
Support for the initiative weakens, however, among centre and left parties: 49 percent are against and 42 percent in favour for Liberal Radicals, and 54 against and 34 for among the Centre Party members .
The strongest opposition is found on the left.
Among the Social Democrats and Greens, 78 percent and 77 percent, respectively, oppose the measure.
READ MORE: Will foreign residents be able to vote in the Swiss anti-immigration referendum?
