GENEVA, SWITZERLAND – The US lower house of Congress, the House of Representatives, voted overwhelmingly Wednesday 2 November in favour of a resolution reconfirming the country’s motto, “In God we trust”. The motion is non-binding, reports CNS news. “The resolution approved Tuesday not only reaffirms the national motto, it also supports and encourages its public display in all public buildings, public schools and government institutions,” it reports.
Republican Randy Forbes of Virginia was behind the resolution, approved 396-9, with 8 Democrats and 1 Republican opposing it.
The motto was adopted in 1956, but it had been used on coins since 1864.
GENEVA, SWITZERLAND – Europe’s politicians reacted with surprise and anger during the day Tuesday to the surprise announcement by Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou that he wants a referendum that will allow Greeks to vote on an EU bailout package. In Greece, there were calls Tuesday evening for the prime minister to resign.
The package was drawn up last week. Ireland also has a bailout package and the Globe and Mail, Canada, reports: “The summit last week was to deal with the uncertainty in the euro zone…and this grenade is thrown in just a few short days later,” European affairs minister Lucinda Creighton said. “‘Legitimately there is going to be a lot of annoyance about it.’” citing Reuters.
Le Monde in France underscores fears that Greece will drop out of the eurozone, triggering a broader crisis. Stock markets around Europe fell, the Paris newspaper notes: Madrid down 4.19 percent, Frankfort down 5 percent, Athens 6.9 percent and Milan 6.8 percent. Markets in London and Switzerland were calmer but nevertheless fell by 2.2 percent and 2.49 percent respectively.
Links to other sites: Financial Times, Reuters
PARIS, FRANCE – Unesco Monday voted to give Palestine full membership, despite an appeal and financial threat from the United States to withhold $80 million in funding. It called the move premature. The vote was 107 in favour, 14 against, with 52 nations abstaining.
VOA reports that “The Palestinian success in Paris could be costly for Unesco. US law prohibits Washington from funding any UN-affiliated body that accepts Palestinian membership. Washington currently is Unesco’s biggest funding source by far, supplying 22 percent of the agency’s budget.”
Unesco is the first United Nations organization to accept Palestine as a full member, in its bid for broader UN recognition as a state.
Links to other sites: Aljazeera, Guardian, Jerusalem Post, Voice of America
GENEVA, SWITZERLAND – China and Russia used their vetoes in the UN Security Council late Tuesday to stop a United Nations draft resolution that threatened sanctions against Syria. It would have been the first such UN decision since March, when President Bashar Assad’s military regime began using tanks and soldiers to crack down on protester. US Ambassador Susan Rice walked out after the vote and remarks against the US by Syria.
The double veto 4 October was the first by the two countries since 2008, when they opposed sanctions against Zimbabwe and it came after several attempts to renegotiate the draft text failed.
The vote was 9-2, with four countries abstaining: India, South Africa, Brazil and Lebanon.
NPR in the US reports that “Russia’s UN Ambassador Vitaly Churkin told the council after the vote that his country did not support the Assad regime or the violence but opposed the resolution because it was “based on a philosophy of confrontation,” contained “an ultimatum of sanctions” and was against a peaceful settlement of a crisis. He also complained that the resolution did not call for the Syrian opposition to disassociate itself from ‘extremists’ and enter into dialogue.
Ria Novosti reports that Russia “stands firmly against any mention of sanctions citing the example of Libya where the Nato countries largely overstepped the UN mandate in a military operation against Muammar Qaddafi’s regime, said the text of the document was ‘unacceptable’ despite several changes to the draft. The Russian news agency cites Churkin’s complaint that “the document did not contain provisions on the unacceptability of an external military intervention.”
China’s Ambassador Li Bandong says that China is concerned about the violence but that sanctions achieve little and can complicate the situation rather than help it.
Links to other sites: BBC, The Globe & Mail, NPR, Ria Novosti, Xinhua
BERN, SWITZERLAND – The European Court of Human Rights Friday 8 July ruled that two cases brought against Switzerland are “inadmissable”: the Swiss popular vote against the construction of new minarets does not directly violate the rights of those who filed complaints with the court in December 2009.
Switzerland voted against the construction of new minarets, a vote that had no impact on the existing five, in November 2009. Two weeks later charges were brought by Hafid Ouardiri, co-president of the Geneva-based Fondation de l’entre-connaissance, and by the Swiss League of Muslims.
Court’s judgement (Fre)
End of school year party in Geneva ends tragically
GENEVA, SWITZERLAND – Geneva is the only canton where children up to age 12 don’t attend school on Wednesday morning, but this is likely to change in 2013.
The cantonal government Thursday evening 26 May voted 56 to 22, with 4 abstaining, in favour of having school Wednesday morning, in part to bring the canton in line with the rest of French-speaking Switzerland.
A key argument for the change has also been Geneva’s relatively weak performance in the Pisa European education studies, compared to other parts of Switzerland.
The teachers’ union is not in favour of the change and has announced that it is beginning the process for a popular referendum to take the issue to the population.
The debate over school on Wednesday has coloured Geneva politics for several years, with teachers and some parent groups arguing that children need a break in the middle of the week.
Two countries who lost money now suing Iceland
Iceland’s citizens voted by more than 60 percent 10 April not to pay back Britain and The Netherlands for losses incurred when Landsbanki went under in 2008. The bank’s failure was part of the country’s economic failure, an early victim to the global economic crisis. British and Dutch investors were covered by domestic deposit insurance for the money they had in the bank’s Icesave unit, under European Union rules. The two governments are out $5.8 billion and have now vowed to take Iceland to court to collect the money.
The three came to an agreement on repayment, in December 2010, but Iceland’s President Ólafur Ragnar Grimsson ordered a national vote on the agreement, soundly rejected, just as a first one was. The no vote, The Netherlands has suggested, could put at risk Iceland’s application to join the European Union.
Links to other sites: BBC, Financial Times (registration), The Netherlands.com
Zurich’s yes makes it an urban vs rural vote
Geneva says no to tax amnesty and single state housing body
Swiss army soldiers: the guns will stay at home
Update 3, 18:00 Bern, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – Swiss citizens Sunday 13 February at 16:30 were close to resoundingly rejecting (TSR map) a popular initiative that would end the long-standing practice of keeping military arms at home.
Final official results are in from 25 of 26 cantons: 20 have rejected the initiative and 6 have approved it. Zurich is the latest one in, voting “yes” but in a close vote, approved by 50.4 percent with 49.6 percent saying “no”.
Zurich, Geneva, Basel and canton Vaud with Lausanne have all approved it, turning the vote into an urban versus rural Switzerland divide, as well as a language regions divide.
Bern, however, with its urban and rural mix, rejected the proposed change to gun laws, voting 59.4 percent against it.
The “no” vote in several German-speaking cantons was more than 60 percent and in some cases 70 percent.
Overall, close to the final count coming in, the “no” vote was 57 percent.
Geneva, Vaud, Jura, Neuchatel and Basel City voted in favour of it, with 61 percent in favour in Geneva and 58.9 percent in Basel City while the others were 52-53 percent.
The arguments during the run-up to the vote were often emotional, with the rationale behind the initiative being to reduce the number of deaths and in particular suicides by firearms. But other issues underlay the votes, including state versus federal balance of power, since an approval would have created a national gun registry to replace cantonal ones and it would have made it more difficult to keep arms at home for sports purposes.
Fewer than one-quarter of registered guns in Switzerland are military issue firearms, the government has estimated.
Socialists and Greens as well as a number of church groups supported the initiative but the Federal Council opposed it, saying current legislation is adequate and the problems need to be addressed elsewhere.
Those in favour have argued that the easy accessibility of guns makes suicide too easy: if a gun is not handy many suicides could be avoided.
Some groups against the initiative have argued that tightening the rules would create a black market in guns, which could prove equally dangerous.
Switzerland has the highest rate of suicides by handguns in Europe, 24-28 percent from 1996 to 2005, according to a pre-vote report by Swissinfo. It trails well behind the United States, where the figure is 57 percent, says Swissinfo.
It is not the leading country overall, however: Switzerland, with 3-4 deaths by suicide a day, ranks 20th in the world for suicide according to World Health Organization figures, with 19.1 per 100,000 (USA: 11.1 per 100,000, ranks 40th).
Canton issues: Geneva says no to two initiatives, Bern votes for a nuclear power station
Geneva voters firmly rejected two initiatives, one that would have given a tax amnesty to those who have defrauded the government and another that would have brought under one roof four separate state bodies that are involved in construction for low-income and needy groups.
Bern agreed to a new nuclear power station in Muehleberg while canton Nidwald has said no to storing nuclear waste on its territory, at Wellenberg.
Bern, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – Swiss voters are turning in their ballots to decide on tightening regulations covering firearms. Many of them are doing so Friday using local commune’s special ballot boxes before they head for the mountains, rather than turning up in person to vote Sunday 13 February.
The popular referendum is supported by Socialists and Greens but no other major parties, nor does the federal government back it. The “initiative” as referendums are called, calls for a national gun registry to replace the current cantonal registries, and for military guns to be kept centrally, rather than in homes.
International media are turning the spotlight on the vote as Sunday draws nearer, often (incorrectly) drawing a parallel with US arms discussions: the Swiss debate is not over the right to bear arms, but the responsibility that goes with bearing them. The Swiss militia obligation for citizens to have firearms is accompanied by the legal obligation to practice shooting regularly.
The vote would not change this obligation, both to bear arms and to use them responsibly, but it would shift how information about gun-owners is kept and where the firearms reside.
Crowds that gathered in Juba, in southern Sudan, cheered as the official vote commission confirmed Sunday 30 January that 99 percent of voters there had said yes to secession from the north. The vote, which took place the first week in January, has received praise worldwide for taking place peacefully and with little fraud. Officials say 99 percent of eligible voters in the south participated, while 60 percent in the north did. The vote in the south was 99 percent in favour, but in the north it was 58 percent in favour of splitting the country.
Southern Sudan could become a new country as soon as July but key negotiations over borders and oil rights have not yet taken place. Sudan fought a civil war that lasted 20 years and killed some 2 million people. A vote over secession was part of the terms of the peace settlement.
Links to other sites: AFP/Gulf News, Yahoo News
Sudan’s Islamist opposition leader Hassan Al-Turabi and several aides were arrested Monday evening 17 January at his home in Khartoum, the day after he told news agency AFP that if Sudan’s President Al-Bashir did not share power, street protests like those in Tunisia could happen. Al-Turabi was once Al-Bashir’s close ally but the two fell out in 1999 and Al-Turabi formed a splinter group.
Voting over the south seceding from the rest of Sudan appears to have gone relatively smoothly, with the results now expected to show a clear vote for independence, but tensions remain high in the region.
The 78-year-old Al-Turabi was arrested and held for two months in 2009.
Links to other sites: allAfrica, Al Jazeera
Crime rate low, but insecurity an issue; de-centralization carries day on higher taxes for wealthy: voters strongly refuse initiative
Geneva rejects longer shopping hours, Vaud town says yes to Lake Geneva public access
Update 2, 21:10 Bern, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) - Swiss media and political parties are scrambling Sunday evening 28 November to analyze the significance of a solid majority of voters approving the right-wing UDC (SVP, Swiss People’s Party) popular initiative to automatically expel foreigners found guilty of serious crimes. Fifty-two percent of voters went to the polls and approved the foreign criminals initiative by 52.9 percent. Not a single canton accepted parliament’s alternative counter-initiative. French-speaking cantons, with the exception of bilingual but French-majority Valais , rejected the UDC proposal, but all German-speaking and German-majority cantons voted for it except the city of Basel.
Voters also resoundingly rejected a Socialist popular “fair taxes” initiative that would have obliged some cantons with low taxes for wealthy people to raise their tax rates. It failed by 58.5 percent.
The Federal Justice and Police Department Sunday evening issued a notice that the government will set up a working group before the Christmas break to begin looking at how the foreign criminals vote can be implemented. In its statement it noted that:
“The working group will have the task of examining open questions and drafting a proposal as to how the initiative can be implemented, which the FDJP can subsequently put to the Federal Council. Ultimately it will fall to parliament to decide how the initiative is to be implemented in the form of a federal act. The Federal Council will also be counting on the sponsors of the initiative to keep the pledge they made before the vote to contribute constructively to producing a solution that is compatible with the constitution and international law.”
Sunday and late shopping in Geneva fails while La Tour-de-Peilz says yes to public lakefront
Voters also settled a number of cantonal and communal issues. In the Lake Geneva region: Geneva voters rejected later shopping hours while in canton Vaud the town of La Tour-de-Peilz voted in favour of making the Lake Geneva waterfront accessible to the public.
What the foreign criminals vote means
Cecile Brossard's conviction for the murder of banker Edouard Stern drew packs of journalists in 2008. She has now been sent back to France.
Bern, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – The Swiss go to the polls once again Sunday 28 November to vote on two popular initiatives, one to deport foreigners who commit crimes, where voters are given three options.
The second federal item on the ballot proposes to reduce the differences among Swiss cantons in their tax rates on large fortunes by calling for a Swiss-wide minimum tax rate and abolishing “degressive” tax rates. This calls for ending the practice, which some cantons have had in the past, of reducing the tax rate in proportion to the size of the fortune. Bern is opposed to the proposal, noting that in any event degressive tax rates have been outlawed in Switzerland since 2007.
In addition, some Swiss are voting on cantonal and communal issues.
Three choices for expelling foreigners or leaving the law as it stands
The voting item that has received the most attention from outside Switzerland is a proposal to automatically expel foreigners for some crimes. Recent polls, 10 days before the vote, have shown a majority of Swiss favouring the UDC proposal and a majority against the counter-initiative proposed by the government, with little movement in opinions.
The right-wing UDC party initiated the referendum on sending home foreigners who commit crimes by getting the necessary 100,000 signatures on their proposal. Swiss citizens vote three to four times a year on a number of referendums, some of which are proposed by the government while others are known as popular initiatives and are proposed by groups of interested citizens.
The UDC motion has been hotly debated, but not the fact, confirmed by the government, that the proportion of foreigners who commit serious crimes is well above the 21.7 percent of the Swiss population. Switzerland, like many other governments, already expels foreign criminals and charges them not to return for set periods of time, usually within the framework of agreements with other countries.
Cecile Brossard is a case in point: a French woman famously sentenced to prison in Geneva for murdering banking scion Edouard Stern, she was released early in October 2010 on good behaviour after serving part of her sentence. She was sent back to France with an order not to set foot on Swiss soil for 10 years.
The UDC text
Green Party member's web site to combat what he says is false information in right-wing UDC mailing
Bern, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) - A web site has gone live in Switzerland to uncover fictive aspects of “facts” concerning foreigners in the country that were sent to Swiss households by the right-wing UDC political party. The UDC, or People’s Party, is behind a popular referendum, which will be put to the vote 28 November, to send foreigners back to their home countries if they are found guilty of a variety of crimes. Ce que le UDC vous cache, in French and German, presents 52 factual and statistical errors: a mix of manipulations, omissions and lies, says the site’s creator, Antonio Hodgers, a Green Party politician from Geneva.
Swiss voters likely to have their say on more public transport funding
Popular initiative for public transport: 140,000 signatures handed to Bern
Bern, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – Swiss voters will probably have their say about increasing funds for public transport. A group called ATE (Transport and Environment Association) and 20 partner groups Monday 6 September handed in 140,000 signatures, an unusually high number for a popular or citizens’ initiative, that calls for more money to be spent on public transport and less on highways. The signatures were handed to the federal chancellery.
The federal tax on mineral oils is currently cut three ways, with the general federal budget taking a slice. The remainder is divided between highways, with 75 percent, and public transport, which receives 25 percent. The new initiative would redistribute that money: the remainder would be shared 50-50 by roads and public transport.
Bern, Switzerland (GenevaLunch.com) – In one of the fastest political turnarounds in recent memory, a popular initiative to reinstate the death penalty has died, a day after it was announced. The committee, based in Langnau, published a notice on its web site early Wednesday 25 August, saying it will withdraw the referendum, which would have needed 100,000 signatures to make it onto the ballots. The popular initiative had come in for heavy criticism from all political parties in Switzerland and it could have been stopped in any event by the federal government if it was thought to run counter to international law.
The group says the proposal to vote on the matter was the only way to draw attention to what it sees as a dysfunctional justice system. On its site, it ends with the English words “We’ll be back.”
Links to other sites: death penalty popular initiative committee (Ger), TSR (Fre)
Bern, Switzerland (GenevaLunch.com) - A Swiss popular initiative to bring back the death penalty, abolished in 1942, has gathered the necessary signatures and fulfilled other requirements to allow it to move to the next stage, the federal Chancellery announced Tuesday morning 24 August. The authors have until February 2012 to gather 100,000 signatures for a popular countrywide vote to go ahead.
The popular vote would allow the death penalty in the case of murder or death resulting from sexual abuse, rape and child molestation. The federal government, which normally recommends that citizens vote for or against a popular initiative, will not offer its opinion until the necessary signatures have been gathered. The Federal Council could, however, declare it against international law if it sees fit.
The UN Human Rights Commission reported in July 2010 that while the official figures for deaths by capital punishment show 714 people killed in 2009, the figure is likely to be far higher than that, worldwide, since in several countries the information is considered a state secret.
The Swiss vote on anywhere from one (2007) to seven (2008) popular initiatives in a year. In 2010 three of these have made it onto the ballots.
Text of the proposed vote (Fre).
Bern, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) - The two-house commission that met early Thursday morning to reach a decision on a popular referendum for a Swiss-US treaty has voted 14-11 to recommend, along with the Swiss Federal Council (seven-member ruling cabinet), not to hold a popular referendum. The two houses must now vote yes or no to accept the commission’s recommendation, but the upper house has already voted three times against a referendum, so attention now turns to the lower house final vote.
The treaty is a one-time agreement for Switzerland to accept a US request for judicial assistance in the case of 4.450 UBS bank accounts suspected of being used for tax fraud.
Background, GenevaLunch
Swiss parliament in session Photo®Swiss parliament
Bern, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – The upper house of the Swiss parliament has said no to a popular referendum on the Swiss-US treaty covering 4,450 UBS bank accounts. A house commission voted 8-3 Wednesday morning 16 June against a motion to support the lower house’s option for a popular vote, and the commission’s minority agreed not to take the motion to the full upper house.
The option of a referendum now returns to the lower house, which is expected to vote on it Wednesday afternoon. If it votes yes, the measure must go to a reconciliation commission of the two houses.
Cliff-hanger continues over treaty as lower house says yes – but with option to put vote to national referendum
Bern, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – The right-wing UDC party held to its promise and supported the US-Swiss treaty covering a US request for judicial assistance for 4,450 UBS bank accounts. The treaty passed, 81 in favour, 61 against – with 54 abstaining, mainly UDC members. The vote in favour comes with a rider, however, that the option for a popular vote on the treaty should be exercised, forcing the two houses to now work out a compromise solution there. A popular vote would prevent Switzerland from meeting the treaty obligation to review all 4,450 accounts for the US by 31 August 2010.
The US House 30 April approved a measure that would allow Puerto Ricans to vote on whether they like being a US commonwealth, the island’s status since 1952, and if they say no, on whether they should become a state. Even if they did vote for statehood, it would be only a first step towards becoming the US’s 51st state, since that requires approval by the full US Congress (Senate and House of Representatives). But opponents include those, such as US Congressman Luis Gutierrez of Chicago, who want to see the island independent in order to ensure it can keep its greatest treasures. He lists these as the Spanish language, baseball teams and the right to participate in two events where it excels: the Olympics and the Miss Universe contests.
Links to other sites: Chicago Tribune, Yahoo news
Bern, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) - The Swiss Federal Council Wednesday afternoon 14 April formally asked Parliament to approve the treaty signed with the United States in August 2009. The treaty is an agreement whereby Switzerland will provide judicial assistance to the IRS, the US tax authority in the case of 4,450 UBS clients suspected of tax fraud.
The message goes to Parliament as the country’s left and centre political parties appear to be lining up to approve the treaty, although the right-wing People’s Party insists that it flies in the face of Swiss banking secrecy law.
Geneva, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – Nearly 200,000 Iraqis who live outside their country as displaced persons, but in the region, could have help from the UNHCR (UN High Commissioner for Refugees) to vote in upcoming elections. The Geneva-based organization has told the Iraqi Election Commission (IHEC), in response to a demand it made, that the UNHCR “stands ready to facilitate the participation of Iraqi refugees living in the countries neighbouring Iraq.”
The UNHCR will work with the government to provide demographic data on the registered Iraqis, inform them of their rights for the elections, and provide logistical support. The organization calls the 7 March elections “a major opportunity to consolidate national reconciliation.”
The threatened British Air cabin crew strike over the Christmas and New Year’s holiday season appears less certain, with the airline saying Wednesday 15 December that it plans to contest the strike vote in court. BA’s argument is that some of those who voted are no longer employed by the airline. The company is meanwhile working out staffing plans should the strike go ahead.
Background on local and national Swiss votes 29 November, GenevaLunch
Update 16:40 Geneva, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – Swiss voters turned Sunday voted to ban the construction of new minarets in the country, with 57.5 percent of voters approving the initiative and 42.5 percent opposed to it. The vote went along language lines, with Swiss Germans voting for the ban and French speakers voting against, although cantons with both languages, such as Valais and Bern, voted soundly to support the ban.
The result is widely seen as a slap in the face to the government, which has strongly opposed the initiative. But it will also be read as a vote against the current situation of Muslims in Switzerland, say most Swiss media. On the one hand, approving the ban will send a signal that the Swiss are worried about “creeping Islamization”, a phrase that was used by the UDC (right-wing People’s Party) during the campaign, and on the other hand, a signal that Muslim ghettoes are not acceptable, reports Swissinfo. The Muslim population has increased by about 350,000 and is now around 4.5 percent of the Swiss population, according to Swissinfo.
Switzerland set to continue arms exports
Voters rejected by 68 percent, early results indicate, a popular initiative to stop Swiss arms exports.
Geneva says yes to Ceva regional transport, Vésenaz tunnel
The years of debate are over for Ceva, the regional transport system that would link Geneva to Annemasse. Voters approved by nearly 62 percent a CHF113 million credit that will allow the project to go ahead. They also approved the covered tunnel for Vésenaz.
Map of incoming results on TSR: “la carte”
Geneva, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – The sign in front of the mosque in the Geneva suburb of Petit-Saconnex was covered in pink paint during the night of 25-26 November, reports the Tribune de Genève. It is the third time this month that the site has been a target for vandals and troublemakers: the façade of the mosque was stoned 15 November, and a week earlier a group of right-wing radicals made a false call to prayer at 07:00.
The country votes on whether or not to prohibit the building of minarets in Switzerland Sunday 29 November but some observers believe the vote is more about the changing role of Islam in Swiss society.
Links to other sites: ABC, Australia, Le Temps (Fre), TF1 (Fre), France, Tribune de Geneve (Fre)
Taoiseach (head of government) Brian Cowen Saturday 3 October announced the overwhelmingly positive response of Ireland in its referendum on the Lisbon Treaty, with a 67 percent “yes” vote and a voter turnout of 58 percent. The second referendum is a turnabout: 54 percent of voters said no to the treaty in a first referendum in June 2008.
Voting Sunday 27 September
Bern, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – Swiss voters go to the polls Sunday 27 September to decide on a proposed increase in the value-added tax (VAT) to finance the country’s deeply indebted federal disability insurance scheme. They must also decide on whether to strike down a constitutional right that they approved six years ago.
The first measure is a temporary increase in Switzerland’s VAT, or sales tax, from 7.6 to eight percent. The additional funds will go to finance Switzerland’s disability insurance (AI), which is CHF13 billion in debt – and increasing by CHF4m per day. Currently, the government is dipping into the country’s old age pension (AVS) reserves to finance AI operations.
The VAT increase is scheduled to be limited to seven years, from 2011-2017. This will give the government time, it says, to clean up the AI, plagued by poor management and abuses, and put it on a surer footing for the future. A major consequence of a “yes” vote is that the country’s two big social insurance schemes, AVS and AI, will be separated. If the vote fails, the AVS, and with it the country’s pensioners, runs the risk of slipping into the red in 12 years.
United Auto Workers (UAW) members voted overwhelmingly in favour of a deal that commits Fiat to sharing key technology with the US company and to manufacture a small car in the US. The agreement was essential in order for US government loans to the company to continue. Globe & Mail, Canada
Lausanne, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) - Vaud’s police are calling for a unified force that would put an end to a practice common in Switzerland, where the cantonal police and municipal police are separate. Voters are likely to be asked to take a stance on the issue in September, reports TSR.
