Optional referendum

The optional referendum is a special form of the referendum and an instrument of direct democracy . It is intended to enable citizens to vote in a referendum or referendum on a proposal that has already been approved by the elected political representation. For an optional referendum to be successful, it is necessary to collect a certain number of signatures from eligible voters within a specified period after the resolution has been passed.

In Switzerland in particular , it is an essential and important component in the realization of semi-direct democracy . In addition to Switzerland, seven other European countries are also familiar with the optional referendum: Liechtenstein , Italy , San Marino , Slovenia , Malta , Albania and Luxembourg . In Germany , citizens of the federal state of Hamburg have the option of having parliamentary resolutions on laws passed by the people reviewed by means of an optional referendum in a referendum. According to a term that is prevalent in Austria , an optional referendum is understood to mean any non-mandatory referendum, regardless of whether it is initiated by parliament or by the population. There are optional referendums that can be initiated by parliament at the federal level and in all federal states. Optional referendums that can be initiated by the population are planned at the provincial level in the federal states of Burgenland, Lower Austria, Styria, Tyrol and Vorarlberg and at the municipal level in the federal states of Burgenland, Vorarlberg and Styria.

etymology

The German word referendum is a foreign word from Latin and is made up of the prefix re “back” and the verb ferre “wear, bring” together. In a referendum, the decision on a political matter is “carried back” or “brought back” from the elected representative (parliament) to the sovereign (the people). The adjective facultative is derived from the Latin noun facultas "possibility".

In an optional referendum , the possibility is created to submit a decision made by the elected representative (parliament or government) to the sovereign (the people).

Switzerland

Procedure

According to Article 141 of the Federal Constitution of 1999 , 50,000 voters or eight cantons can request a referendum on this resolution within the referendum period of 100 days after the publication of certain resolutions passed by parliament . If you start collecting signatures, this is called holding a referendum . Only when the required number of signatures has been gathered does the referendum come about . If an optional referendum is taken by the cantons, it is also known as a cantonal referendum .

With the exception of the urgent federal laws, the resolution will only come into force once it has been approved in a referendum. Federal laws that have been declared urgently will expire one year after being passed by the Federal Assembly after a possible negative referendum and can no longer be renewed.

In the cantons and communes, the optional referendum can always be requested by collecting the signatures of those entitled to vote, whereby different requirements for the number of necessary signatures and the deadlines apply. In some cantons there is also the communal referendum derived from the cantonal referendum, in which a certain number of communes can call for a referendum. In most cantons and municipalities there is also the option of a number of members of parliament, for example a quarter, or, in the case of municipalities without a parliament, a certain number of voters present at a municipal assembly, which is stipulated in the cantonal constitution or municipal code, to force a referendum can. In such a case one speaks of an authority referendum.

Resolutions eligible for referendum

The following types of decisions are subject to the optional referendum:

• Federal laws
• urgent federal laws that are valid for more than one year
• certain legally defined types of federal resolutions
• certain international treaties :
  • unlimited and permanent access to international organizations
  • Contracts that contain important legal provisions or the implementation of which requires the enactment of federal laws.

These provisions only apply at the federal level; Further referendum rights exist in the cantons and communes, including on public expenditure ( financial referendum ).

poll

In the referendum , unlike the one mandatory referendum only the popular majority , the majority of the cantons ( cantons ), however, is not required. As with all referendums in Switzerland, a simple majority always decides in the case of an optional referendum , so quorums do not apply.

history

The referendum first spread in the cantons (e.g. in the canton of Zurich since 1869). At the federal level, the optional referendum was introduced by the Federal Constitution of 1874 (Art. 74).

The ratification of the Gotthard Treaty from 1909 triggered widespread protests and ultimately led to a petition . In the referendum in 1921, the optional referendum was introduced for international treaties that are valid for more than 15 years or for an indefinite period.

The number of signatures required by Swiss voters for an optional referendum was initially 30,000. Due to the massive increase in the number of voters through population growth and the introduction of women's suffrage (1971), the number was increased to 50,000 valid signatures in 1977.

In 2003, a cantonal referendum was held for the first time and so far only in Switzerland. It related to changes in marriage, family and housing taxation (so-called “tax package”). The contested bill was rejected in the referendum on May 16, 2004.

Germany

In Germany there is only the possibility of holding an optional referendum in the federal states of Hamburg and Bremen (only for privatizations). In Hamburg, however, this is only provided for the special case when the citizenship changes or repeals a law passed by the people or the right to vote. Then 2.5% of the electorate can demand a referendum on the amendment law within 3 months. This was introduced there in 2008 as a result of the popular initiative “For fair and binding referendums - more democracy”. So far, this instrument has only been used once when the district assembly electoral law was changed in December 2013.

Austria

At the federal level , an optional referendum can only be initiated by parliament and requires a previous legislative decision by parliament. A simple majority of MPs is required for binding referendums on simple laws. Under constitutional laws, one third of MPs have a minority right to initiate a binding optional referendum, but this has never been used before. The referendum of November 5, 1978 on the commissioning of the Zwentendorf nuclear power plant was the only optional referendum at federal level to date. A narrow majority of 50.5% with an overhang of only about 30,000 votes voted against the Zwentendorf nuclear power plant.

At the provincial level, there is the possibility of an optional referendum in all Austrian provinces if the Landtag decides on such a referendum. In the five federal states of Burgenland, Lower Austria, Styria, Tyrol and Vorarlberg, a referendum on a state law to be published can also be requested by a certain number of citizens within a certain period. In Lower Austria, Styria, Tyrol and Vorarlberg, a certain number of municipalities can also force an optional referendum. However, the use of the optional referendum in Austria's federal states so far is sobering. There were referendums initiated by citizens in Vorarlberg in 1956 (Operation Prohibition Act) and in Burgenland in 1988 (Objectivity Act), each of which rejected the law passed by the State Parliament. In 1980 there was an optional referendum decided by the state parliament in Vorarlberg (strengthening of the state and the municipalities in the state - “Pro Vorarlberg”), which resulted in approval of the legislative resolution of the state parliament.

At the community level , all federal states except Lower Austria, Upper Austria and Tyrol are familiar with the instrument of binding, optional referendums for matters that fall within the scope of community autonomy. In all of these federal states, a referendum can be passed by the municipal council, in Burgenland as well as in Salzburg and Vorarlberg also by the mayor. In Burgenland and Vorarlberg, a referendum must also take place on the initiative of citizens with the appropriate support. In Styria, a referendum must also be held if an initiative from citizens reaches 25% support and is not implemented within a year.

See also

• Direct democracy
• Semi-direct democracy
• referendum
• mandatory referendum

Web links

Wiktionary: Referendum  - explanations of meanings, word origins, synonyms, translations

Wiktionary: optional  - explanations of meanings, word origins, synonyms, translations

• More democracy e. V. - Association for Direct Democracy (Germany)
• Initiative and Referendum Institute Europe
• more democracy! - the non-party initiative for strengthening direct democracy (Austria)

References and footnotes

1. ↑ Database and search engine for direct democracy
2. ↑ Frank Rehmet / Neelke Wagner / Tim Willy Weber: Referenda in Europe. International comparison of regulations and practice. Opladen, Berlin & Toronto, 2020, pp. 27ff.
3. ↑ Art. 165 of the Swiss Federal Constitution
4. ↑ z. B. Art. 33, Para. 2b of the Constitution of the Canton of Zurich
5. ↑ z. B. Art. 86, Para. 3 of the Constitution of the Canton of Zurich
6. ^ Gérard Benz: Gotthard contract. In: Historical Lexicon of Switzerland .
7. ↑ Article 43 of the Federal Constitutional Act ( Memento of the original dated November 30, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
8. ↑ Article 44 Paragraph 3 of the Federal Constitutional Law ( Memento of the original dated November 30, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
9. ^ Result of the referendum of November 5, 1978
10. ↑ Article 33 Burgenland Provincial Constitutional Law ( Memento of the original of February 24, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
11. ↑ Article 27 of the Lower Austrian Provincial Constitution ( Memento of the original from February 24, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
12. ↑ Article 41 Styrian Provincial Constitutional Law ( Memento of the original from February 24, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
13. ↑ Article 39 Tiroler Landesordnung ( Memento of the original dated November 9, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
14. ↑ Article 35 Vorarlberg State Constitution ( Memento of the original from February 24, 2014 in the web archive archive.today ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
15. ↑ Klaus Poier, property Direct Democracy in Austria's state and local. An overview of the legal situation and empirical experience , in: Neumann / Renger, Sachunmittelbare Demokratie in an interdisciplinary and international context 2008/2009 . Baden-Baden 2010, 36ff.
16. ↑ Klaus Poier, property Direct Democracy in Austria's state and local. An overview of the legal situation and empirical experience , in: Neumann / Renger, Sachunmittelbare Demokratie in an interdisciplinary and international context 2008/2009. Baden-Baden 2010, 44ff.
17. ↑ Klaus Poier, property Direct Democracy in Austria's state and local. An overview of the legal situation and empirical experience , in: Neumann / Renger, Sachunmittelbare Demokratie in an interdisciplinary and international context 2008/2009. Baden-Baden 2010, 48ff.
18. ↑ § 54 Burgenland Municipal Code ( Memento of the original from November 9, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
19. ↑ § 22 Vorarlberg Law on Community Organization ( Memento of the original dated February 24, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
20. ↑ § 124 Steiermärkisches Volksrechtegesetz ( Memento of the original of February 24, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  

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