Swiss voters will decide on five proposals in first 2027 ballot

Swiss voters will decide on five proposals in the first ballot of the 2027 election year, SRF reports. The Federal Council set the agenda on Wednesday for the vote, which will include contentious measures on new nuclear power plants and a free-trade agreement with Malaysia.

The five proposals are the foie gras initiative, the Democracy Initiative, the free-trade agreement with Malaysia, the repeal of the ban on building new nuclear power plants, and a measure to make minimum wages binding even when they are below cantonal minimum wages.

More significant proposals could be put to a vote on June 6. Eight popular initiatives are currently before parliament, and signatures are being collected for a referendum against the free-trade agreement with the Mercosur states. It is not yet clear whether the package of agreements with the European Union will be ready for a vote by summer.

Five proposals in one voting day is above average, but not a record. The highest number since the turn of the millennium was nine, on May 18, 2003. They included the Army XXI reform, a proposal to phase out nuclear power, and initiatives on car-free Sundays and fair rents.

On average, voters have decided on eight to nine proposals each year this millennium, or about two to three at each of the four regular voting dates. The February ballot is unusually full for an election year. The Federal Council traditionally avoids votes in the second half of election years so that policy debates do not overlap with the campaign. In the six previous election years since 2000, voters decided on just over four proposals on average across the whole year.

The Federal Council has scheduled only two voting dates in 2027.