Media conference from Bern How the federal government is reacting after the signature scam
Despite the signature snatch, the federal government does not intend to take any measures. Ongoing signature collections will continue as planned.
13.09.2024, 14:30
13.09.2024, 14:59
SDA
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- Ongoing signature collections are to continue as planned despite the signature scandal.
- The Federal Council is refraining from taking drastic emergency measures following the revelation of suspected cases of fraud.
No follow-up checks and suspension of pending initiatives and referendums: Ongoing signature collections should continue as planned. Following the discovery of suspected cases of fraud, the Federal Council is refraining from taking drastic emergency measures.
No follow-up checks or suspension of pending initiatives are planned, the Federal Council announced on Friday. It thus supports the proposals of the Federal Chancellery.
"To date, there is no reliable evidence that referendums have only come about thanks to forged signatures," the Federal Council stated.
Moreover, the authorities lack the legal basis both for suspending the processing of popular initiatives and for the subsequent verification of signatures. "The conditions for creating the appropriate basis by emergency law have not been met."
Affair expanded
According to the Federal Council, cooperation with the scientific community should also be sought in order to examine the possibility of technical solutions that could better protect signature collections against abuse and fraud.
The suspected cases of allegedly forged signatures and unfair practices in signature collections were made public by a Tamedia investigation at the beginning of September. Commercial companies were alleged to have cheated when collecting signatures for popular initiatives.
Just over a week after the initial reports, the affair took on a new twist at the beginning of this week: according to the Federal Chancellery, certain organizations that collect signatures for money allegedly did so without a mandate and pressured committees to purchase these signatures that had not been ordered. It did not name the organizations, but informed committees of popular initiatives and referendums in the collection stage and assured them of support.
