Switzerland: Referndum, 21 May 2017

At stake in this election:

• Citizens of Switzerland will be voting on the Energy Act (EnG) of 30 September 2016.

Description of government structure:

• Chief of State: President of the Swiss Confederation Doris LEUTHARD (since 1 January 2017)
• Head of Government: President of the Swiss Confederation Doris LEUTHARD (since 1 January 2017)
• Assembly: Bicameral Federal Assembly (Bundesversammlung or Assemblee Federale) consisting of the Council of States (Staenderat or Conseil des Etats) with 46 seats and the National Council (Nationalrat or Conseil National) with 200 seats

Electoral requirements:

• Swiss citizens can call both constitutional and legislative referendums. The electorate can initiate constitutional legislation with a federal popular initiative. Each proposal on a referendum has “Yes” and “No” boxes for each voter to fill in.

About the referendum:

• The referendum will approve the implementation of the Energy Strategy 2050, Switzerland's renewable energy plan. The act would ban the construction of new nuclear power plants and promote renewable energy. 

Main provisions in the referendum:

• Do you want to accept the Energy Act (EnG) of 30 September 2016?

Population and number of registered voters:

• Population: 8,179,294 (2016)
• Registered Voters: 5,325,848 (2016) 

Gender Data:

• Female Population: 4,151,926 (2016 est.)
• Is Switzerland a signatory to CEDAW: Yes (23 January 1987)
• Has Switzerland ratified CEDAW: Yes (27 March 1997)
• Gender Quota: No
• Female candidates in this election: N/A
• Number of Female Parliamentarians: 73
• Human Development Index Position: 2
• Social Institutions and Gender Index (SIGI) Categorization: N/A

Disability Data:

• Is Switzerland a signatory to CRPD: N/A
• Has Switzerland ratified CRPD: Yes, accession (15 April 2014)
• Population with a disability: 1,218,275