Referendum result overturned due to poorly informed voters

By Deputy Chief EditorApril 12, 2019

125 1 minute read

Switzerlands supreme court has overturned the result of a nationwide referendum because the information given to voters was insufficient.

The federal court concluded: Keeping in mind the close result and the severe nature of the irregularities, it is possible that the outcome of the ballot could have been different.

The 2016 poll asked whether married couples and partners living together should pay the same tax.

The Swiss government building Bundeshaus or Federal Palace of Switzerland, headquarter one of the oldest democracies in the world, Berne, capital city of Switzerland, Europe — Switzerlands supreme court has overturned the result of a referendum (Picture: Getty Images)

The referendum was rejected with 50.8 per cent to 49.2 per cent.

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The court ruled that the electorate was incomplete and violated the freedom of the vote.

Its the first time in the countrys modern history that a referendum result has been overturned.

The Government told voters that just 80,000 married couples were paying more tax than co-habiting partners – when the actual number was almost 500,000.

The court said voters had been informed erroneously and in an incomplete way. They could not imagine that the number of couples affected by the married couples tax penalty was more than five times higher than the figure announced.