How the federal authorities are reacting to the signature scam
Published: Friday, Sep 13th 2024, 16:50
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Commercial companies are alleged to have cheated when collecting signatures for popular initiatives. This involves forged signatures and organizations that are said to have collected signatures without a mandate and pressured committees to buy signatures. An overview:
WHAT HAS HAPPENED?
At the beginning of September, Tamedia research revealed that thousands of signatures for popular initiatives had allegedly been falsified. Just over a week after the initial reports, the affair took on a new twist: according to the Federal Chancellery, certain organizations that collect signatures for money are said to have done so without a mandate and urged committees to purchase these unordered signatures.
WHAT IS THE EXTENT OF THE AFFAIR?
This cannot yet be conclusively assessed. Various criminal investigations by the Office of the Attorney General of Switzerland are ongoing. However, according to the Federal Chancellery, there is currently no reliable evidence to suggest that votes were held on proposals that were not legally valid. "So far, not a single signature that was declared valid has subsequently turned out to be forged," says Federal Chancellor Viktor Rossi.
IS THE FEDERAL COUNCIL TAKING EMERGENCY MEASURES?
No. The Federal Council is refraining from taking drastic emergency measures following the revelation of suspected cases of fraud. Ongoing signature collections are to continue as planned. There are also no plans for follow-up checks on signatures for referendums that have come about but have not yet been put to the vote.
WHY THIS RESTRAINT?
The authorities lack the legal basis both for suspending the processing of popular initiatives and for the subsequent verification of signatures, writes the state government. "The conditions for creating the corresponding basis by emergency law are not fulfilled." According to the state government, follow-up checks would also be problematic in terms of state policy because they would severely delay and call into question the process of dealing with the currently pending popular initiatives, which is subject to statutory deadlines. "It is a decision based on the motto: in case of doubt, for the people's rights," says Federal Chancellor Rossi.
SO NOTHING HAPPENS?
Yes, the Federal Council wants to counter unfair practices in the collection of signatures for referendums with criminal prosecution, prevention and improved processes instead, as it writes. As part of its duties in counting signatures, the Federal Chancellery is carrying out increased checks, for example. With immediate effect, it is subjecting the lists from all cantons to an in-depth check. The dual control principle now applies.
WHAT IS PLANNED FOR THE NEXT FEW WEEKS?
The Federal Chancellery will soon be convening a round table. The parties, associations, committees, collection organizations and authorities involved in collecting and checking signatures are to analyze the current processes and define possible measures to prevent abuse. Chancellor Rossi has collection and transparency rules in mind, a "bindingly agreed self-regulation". At the same time, it should remain simple and straightforward to collect signatures. "Anything else would be alien to the system."
WHAT SHOULD HAPPEN IN THE MEDIUM AND LONG TERM?
According to the Federal Council, for example, cooperation with the scientific community is to be sought in order to examine the possibility of technical solutions that could better protect signature collections against abuse and fraud. The federal government will publish a report on e-collecting, i.e. the digital collection of signatures, before the end of this year. According to Chancellor Rossi, the current collection process should not disappear, but other ways of collecting signatures should be identified.
DO WE NEED NEW LAWS?
This will have to be decided by the Federal Council and Parliament. According to Federal Chancellor Rossi, it is first necessary to wait and see the effect of the other measures that have been taken and are still planned. "If these do not take effect, we must make the process of collecting signatures more robust by law." At the same time, he warns against creating a "bureaucratic monster".
WHAT IS THE ROLE OF THE FEDERAL CHANCELLERY?
According to its own information, the Federal Chancellery has been taking action against possible signature forgeries "for several years". It filed criminal charges against persons unknown in 2022 and has added new suspected cases to these charges several times. It is currently preparing a second criminal complaint.
WHY IS THE FEDERAL CHANCELLERY BEING CRITICIZED?
The members of the responsible parliamentary committees and the public only found out about the suspected signature fraud through the media. The Federal Chancellery was aware of the irregularities, but neither it nor the Federal Council actively communicated about them, according to the criticism. Federal Chancellor Rossi has since conceded that the Federal Chancellery should have been more proactive in informing the public about the suspected forged signatures.
WHEN DID THE FEDERAL COUNCIL KNOW ABOUT THE IRREGULARITIES?
According to Federal Chancellor Rossi, the Federal Council was only informed in August 2023, i.e. one year after the Federal Chancellery filed the criminal complaint. Rossi was unable to say why this did not happen until then.
WAS TUT DAS PARLAMENT?
The role of the Federal Chancellery is the subject of the investigations initiated by the Control Committee of the Council of States (CC-S). It wants to know whether and how the Federal Chancellery performed its duties. The National Council's Political Institutions Committee (SPK-N), in turn, has invited the large chamber's Control Committee to take a closer look at the signature scam. It also discussed proposals for amendments to the law, but rejected them for the time being. The various investigations should be awaited first.
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