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According to media reports, professional signature collectors have forged signatures for popular initiatives and referendums (symbolic image).
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Forged signatures? The National Councillors do not want any new laws for this - despite multiple initiatives. Instead, they want more controls and voluntary rules.
The National Council's Political Institutions Committee (SPK-N) does not want any new laws against forged signatures for popular initiatives and referendums. It has rejected several proposals with stricter rules.
As the committee announced on Friday afternoon, it is instead relying on measures without changing the law. Plans include increased controls, the consistent reporting of suspected cases, a new reporting system, exchanges with the scientific community and a code of conduct.
The majority rejects a ban on the commercial collection of signatures. It was hardly possible to distinguish between paid and unpaid collectors, and there were also many ways of circumventing the ban. The committee rejected the Green Group's initiative by 14 votes to 10 with one abstention. A permit requirement for commercial collectors also failed by a similar vote.
A proposal by Ticino SP National Councillor Bruno Storni was also discussed. He wanted the name of the person collecting the signatures to be written on each signature sheet. Storni explained to blue News that the name on each signature form would make it possible to assign suspected cases to a specific person collecting them - not "against persons unknown", but personally.
If the name is wrong, there is already an initial check by the initiative or referendum committee, which must know who is collecting, especially if collectors are paid. "If a false name is nevertheless given, the committee bears the responsibility," he said.
The SP National Councillor from Ticino proposed a compromise - which was rejected.
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Gerhard Pfister, a centrist member of the National Council from Zug, saw no advantage in this: "At the end of the day, it's just another name. If it is forged, all the signatures that this person has collected will be lost. In this respect, I don't see any added value."
Storni received support from Céline Weber, Green Liberal National Councillor from the canton of Vaud. Western Switzerland was particularly affected by allegedly forged signatures. She commented on Storni's initiative: "It increases confidence in the collection of signatures when you can see who is collecting them," she said. The committee could thus be held more accountable.
This proposal was also rejected - by 14 votes to 8 with three abstentions. The committee feared that this would also invalidate valid signatures if the name was incomplete or incorrect. The final decision now lies with Parliament. Supporters warn that repeated forgeries undermine trust in democracy and that legal measures are necessary.
