Voters clear the way for Moutier to change cantons
Published: Sunday, Sep 22nd 2024, 18:01
العودة إلى البث المباشر
On Sunday, voters in the cantons of Bern and Jura cleared the way for the small town of Moutier to transfer from the canton of Bern to the canton of Jura at the start of 2026. This step should resolve the decades-old Jura issue.
The town of Moutier, with a population of 7200, has been fighting for years to join the canton of Jura. In 2021, the town's voters said yes to a change of canton. Since then, an agreement has been drawn up to regulate the transfer.
Certain fears in Pruntrut
Jura voters clearly approved the treaty on Sunday with 19,470 votes in favor (72.9%) against 7,253 against (27.1%). The turnout was 50.3 percent.
Two Jura municipalities rejected the concordat: Bure with 51.1 percent and Ederswiler, the only German-speaking municipality in the canton of Jura, with 51.1 percent. In the Ajoie region in particular, approval was reserved. There are fears there that the Pruntrut region will carry less weight in future, as Moutier will become the second-largest city in the canton of Jura.
A clear case in Bern
The Bernese electorate approved the treaty even more clearly than the people of the Jura. In the canton of Bern, 253,159 voters said yes (83.2 percent) and 51,104 no (16.8 percent). The turnout was 42.6 percent.
The people of Bern also voted in favor of various more editorial amendments to the constitution, which will become necessary with the change of canton, by 264,717 votes to 40,600. This corresponds to a Yes share of 86.7 percent.
In the canton of Bern, the SVP was the only party to oppose the Moutier Concordat. The People's Party traditionally supported the Probernian side on the Jura issue.
Fight for independence
Conflicts arose with the new rulers, which broke out openly at the end of the 1940s. After several plebiscites, the northern districts became the Canton of Jura in 1979, while the southern districts of Courtelary, Moutier and Neuenstadt remained with Bern. Since then, there have been repeated calls for these areas or parts of them to be annexed to the canton of Jura.
The majority of the population in the so-called Bernese Jura wanted nothing to do with this and in 2013, over 70 percent voted in favor of remaining part of Bern. Only Moutier and a few small municipalities in the surrounding area wanted to become part of the Jura. The canton of Bern granted these municipalities the right to opt for a change of canton to the Jura. Moutier did so.
Constitutional article deleted
The change of canton from Moutier should now settle the Jura conflict. At least that is the official word from the federal government and the cantons of Bern and Jura. However, there are still forces among the population that would like to see a united Jura.
Pierre-André Comte, one of the defining figures of the pro-Jurassic movement, told the Keystone-sda news agency on Sunday that his Mouvement autonomiste jurassien (MAJ) would not disband. "No one can stop anyone from dreaming and fighting," he said.
With Sunday's vote, the canton of Jura is removing a controversial article from its constitution that previously paved the way for the shifting of borders.
On Sunday, the Bernese SVP once again insisted on an end to the Jura conflict. The vocal party announced that the "fighting words and jibes" of the pro-Jura forces must now come to an end. The Bernese government councillor Pierre Alain Schnegg (SVP) also sounded the same note. The pro-Jurassic forces must now prove themselves to be democrats.
With the Yes to the Moutier Concordat, the change of canton for the Bernese Jura town is practically certain. The federal councils still have to give their blessing. However, after the result of the vote in both cantons, this is considered a mere formality.
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