Trust in Democracy is Weakened
Published: Thursday, Oct 26th 2023, 05:20
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The Swiss press has described the calculation error of the Federal Statistical Office (BFS) as a disgrace, debacle and fiasco. Commentators said that the trust in democracy was at stake. Other newspapers also expressed strong words, with Tamedia saying that democracy lives on the trust of those who count. They blamed the federalist Swiss system for the error, as two cantons had provided their data in a different format. The BFS discovered the error on Tuesday and communicated it on Wednesday, which CH Media called unacceptable. The NZZ commented that the explanation for the mistake was the worst part, as the program had made multiple counts without proper plausibility checks. They were also relieved that electronic voting had not been implemented, as it would have been impossible to review the ballots. The press concluded that the Swiss should be able to correctly calculate such results, as the reputation of democracy was at stake.
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