US EditionSwiss voters consider whether women, like all male citizens, must do national service
Swiss voters face two referendums on compulsory civic duty for all genders and a 50% inheritance tax on fortunes over CHF50 million to fund climate action, with polls showing low support.
- On November 30 Swiss voters will decide whether to replace men's military conscription with the proposed compulsory civic duty for all citizens, which backers say would boost social cohesion.
- The committee behind the initiative collected 100,000 signatures to put the civic-duty proposal on the ballot, framing it as seeking 'true equality' and calling the current system discriminatory.
- Each year about 35,000 men perform mandatory service at a cost of nearly 1 billion Swiss francs; Switzerland's militia system requires at least four months' service followed by refresher sessions over a decade.
- Polls from gfs.bern show 64 percent and 68 percent oppose the initiative, while the Swiss government and parliament urge rejection citing huge costs and workforce risks involving tens of thousands.
- Voters also consider an inheritance-tax proposal that would tax 50 percent on fortunes above CHF50 million, affecting 2,500 households and raising between CHF2.5 billion and six billion Swiss francs annually.
115 Articles
115 Articles
In two referendums, the Swiss voted by a clear majority against a general duty of service rather than compulsory military service and a climate inheritance tax for the richest part of the population. 84 percent of the participants rejected the duty of service and more than 78 percent rejected the climate inheritance tax, as the final results published on Sunday emerged from all 26 cantons. The Swiss Federal Council and the Swiss Federal Assembly…
In Switzerland, military service is currently only compulsory for men. Women who wish to join the army can volunteer.
Despite intense debates on equality and climate justice, Swiss voters largely followed the recommendations of the government and the Parliament during this double vote.
Swiss voters have decisively rejected in a referendum initiatives to introduce mandatory civilian service for all citizens and an inheritance tax for the wealthy.
While the extension of the obligation to serve has not even obtained 20% approval in many cantons, the tax on wealth has in particular inflamed the debate on the attractiveness of the economic place and the financing of the climate.
The two projects submitted to popular vote on Sunday, 30 November, criticized by the Swiss government and at the origin of intense societal debates, were largely rejected according to the first estimates.
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