At Stake in this Election: 

On 21 January 2024, Liechtensteiners will vote on three referendum provisions that would enact additional building regulations, create photovoltaic energy requirements (e.g., solar panels), and change the current electronic health record system. The proposed building regulations aim to reduce energy consumption and fossil fuel use by requiring upgrades for buildings with high energy consumption and encouraging the use of renewable energy. The proposed photovoltaic energy requirement would mandate the installation of solar panels on new buildings and non-residential buildings constructed after 2035. The final provision would alter the recently instated national electronic health record system to be opt-in rather than opt-out for all Liechtensteiners.

The referendum questions are:

1. Do you agree to the laws of September 6, 2023 on the amendment of the Building Act and the Energy Efficiency Act (implementation of motions on the photovoltaic requirement)?

2. Do you agree to the laws of September 6, 2023 on the amendment of the Building Act, the Energy Efficiency Act and the Energy Certificate Act (implementation of Building Directive II and MuKEn 2014)?

3. Do you accept the initiators' draft to amend the law on the electronic health record (EGDG)?

The response options are Ja (Yes) or Nein (No)

Government Structure:  

• Chief of State: Prince HANS-ADAM II (since 13 November 1989) 

• Head of Government: Prime Minister Daniel RISCH (since 25 March 2021) 

• Assembly: unicameral Parliament (Landtag) with 25 seats

Electoral System:  

• The Prince is a hereditary monarch. 

• The Prime Minister is nominated by Parliament and appointed by the Prince. The parliamentary majority leader typically becomes Prime Minister.

• In Parliament, all 25 members are directly elected by open-list proportional representation vote within multi-seat constituencies. All members serve 4-year terms.

Last Referendum: 

In the 2012 referendum, voters rejected a proposal that would have eliminated the Prince’s ability to veto legislation. Voter turnout was 99.97%.

Information for Voters: 

Im Fokus: Abstimmungen am 21. Januar 2024 / In Focus: Votes on January 21, 2024 (in German)

Key Deadlines: 

• Voter registration deadline: N/A; Voter registration is passive and residence based.

Population and Registered Voters: 

• Population: 39,330 (2022) 

• Registered Voters: 20,730 (2023)

Gender Data: 

• Female Population: 19,820 (2022) 

• CEDAW Status: Ratified (by accession) 22 December 1995  

• Number of Female Legislators (pre-election): 7 out of 25 (28%) in the Parliament  

• Human Development Index (HDI) Position: 0.935, Very High, Rank 16 (2021) 

• Social Institutions and Gender Index (SIGI) Categorization: Unavailable 

Disability Data: 

• CRPD Status: Signed 8 September 2020, not yet ratified 

• Projected population with a disability: 6,293 (2022)

IFES Resources: 

• Does IFES have a presence in Liechtenstein: No 

• Election Access: Yes 

• Election Judgements: Yes, 1 judgment and 7 resources  

Original questions (in German):

1. Wollt Ihr den Gesetzen vom 6. September 2023 über die Abänderung des Baugesetzes und des Energieeffizienzgesetzes (Umsetzung Motionen zur Photovoltaik-Pflicht) zustimmen?

2. Wollt Ihr den Gesetzen vom 6. September 2023 über die Abänderung des Baugesetzes, des Energieeffizienzgesetzes und des Energieausweisgesetzes (Umsetzung Gebäuderichtlinie II und MuKEn 2014) zustimmen?

3. Wollt Ihr den Entwurf der Initianten zur Abänderung des Gesetzes über das elektronische Gesundheitsdossier (EGDG) annehmen?