Bern to review electronic voting in 2013
Limits on numbers raised for Geneva, Neuchatel
GENEVA, SWITZERLAND – The Swiss Federal government 4 April authorized 12 cantons to allow electronic voting during federal elections 17 June 2012. In all but two of the cantons the electronic vote is available only to their citizens abroad. Geneva and Neuchatel are the exception and in both cases the Federal Council Wednesday agreed to raise the limit on the percent of citizens who may vote electronically, from 20 to 30 percent.
Bern cited the long experience these two cantons now have, as pioneers in electronic voting. Neuchatel has used the system 16 times and Geneva 11 times.
Some 164,000 citizens will be able to vote electronically, about 3.2 percent of the population of 5.1 million qualified voters and one-third of the total number allowed by the constitution, although Bern notes that the limit is lower, 10 percent, for non-obligatory federal votes.
The federal government, which has been authorizing “trial” electronic voting, will assess the experiences of various cantons, at the cantonal and federal level, in 2013 as part of longer term plans. A priority, the government notes in a statement Wednesday, is to encourage the Swiss abroad to vote.
Geneva, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – Switzerland’s woes with Libya continue this week, with Tripoli postponing the trials of two Swiss businessmen. The two are to stand trial for visa and tax irregularities, Libya has said. They were arrested shortly after the arrest in Geneva in July 2008 of Hannibal Qadaffi, son of the country’s leader. Libya in early January issued a list of reasons why the son should not have been arrested; it continues to argue, as it did in 2008, that he should have received diplomatic immunity.
The son is reported 6 January by Swiss media to have hosted singer Beyoncé for New Year’s Eve festivities at the Nikki Beach Club in Saint-Barthélemy, the Antilles, a week after he avoided police charges in Britain.
Bern, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – The trials on charges of “illegal economic activity” of two Swiss businessmen held in Libya against their will since July 2008, have been postponed till early January, the Swiss Department of Foreign Affairs said 20 December. The trial of Max Goeldi, country head for engineering giant ABB, has been set back to 2 January. His countryman Rachid Hamdani’s trial has been scheduled for 3 January.
The two men were sentenced to 16 months prison for visa irregularities and tax evasion in November, and have appealed.
Lausanne, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – Lausanne-based Tetra Pak, the world’s largest food packaging company, has signed a contract with Brazilian company Braksem for plastic packaging that will be made from sugar cane. Tetra Pak says “the agreement represents the first move toward using green polyethylene in the carton packaging industry.” Braksem, Brazil’s largest petrochemical company, will use ethanol derived from sugar cane to produce ethylene, which will then be converted into polyethylene, the world’s most commonly used plastic.
First deliveries to Tetra Pak are expected in the first half of 2011. The companies say they expect the process to result in a reduction of CO2 emissions compared to traditional methods of making polyethylene. The contract calls for Braksem to deliver 5,000 tons a year, which Tetra Pak will use mainly for plastic caps and seals. The order represents about 1 percent of the company’s plastic purchases.
Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khameini is expected to officially endorse President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as the winner of the disputed 12 June presidential election, ahead of his swearing-in 5 August in front of parliament. Ahmadinejad has had difficulties forming his new government, reflecting a serious rift within the establishment. Various cabinet members have been rejected, have resigned or been fired. The massive demonstrations following the election resulted in an unknown number of deaths and many hundreds of detentions. The losing presidential candidates criticized the trials 1 and 2 August of hundreds of demonstrators held in government prisons, saying they were unconstitutional and alleging that their confessions were obtained using “medieval” torture methods. Popular discontent with the election results has been more subdued and subtle since. Al-Jazeera, BBC, CNN, Reuters
Basel, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) - Pharmaceutical giant Novartis saw net sales grow 8 percent in local currencies, but slip 2 percent in US dollars in the first six months of 2009. Exchange rates had significant impact on profits, which fell by 12 percent to CHF4.32 billion, compared to the same period in 2008. Company CEO Daniel Vasella notes in the company’s press release on results that the company expects to “continue record underlying results in constant currencies.”
Geneva, Switzerland (romandie/AFP, Fre) – The trial of Cecile Brossard, accused of murdering Edouard Stern, opened in Geneva Wednesday morning with two of the French banker’s children and his ex-wife as witnesses. His wife described him as a man with faults but who was an exceptional person. Brossard asked the court to allow her to explain how the crime occurred, but not to muddy the memory of the man.
Background, 9 June 2009: GenevaLunch/l’Hebdo, part one and part two in English
A US judge has halted the trial of Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri, the only trial still underway after President Barack Obama announced that he wanted all trials suspended and reviewed, and he intends to close Guantanamo Bay within a year. BBC
