#swiss-referendum

#swiss-referendum

Swiss voters on Sunday decisively rejected a call to require women to do national service in the military, civil protection teams or other forms, as men must do already. In a referendum, over 84% of voters rejected the "citizen service initiative" and none of the country's 26 cantons, or states, came anywhere near voting in favor. Proposals need a majority of both voters and cantons to pass.

The narrow win will come as a relief to Switzerland's main political parties, which had mostly supported plans for the e-ID. Both houses of the Swiss parliament had backed the measure with large majorities and the government had recommended a yes vote. But voters rejected an earlier version of the e-ID in 2021, largely over objections to the role of private companies in the system.