Nidwalden voters clearly reject “child protection initiative”
Published: Sunday, Nov 26th 2023, 12:30
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The voters of Nidwalden have clearly rejected the so-called child protection initiative. The initiative, which arose in the course of discussions about the coronavirus measures, would have made health-related measures in schools more difficult.
The referendum was rejected with 87% of votes against (9239 to 1388 votes). The turnout was 34.39 percent.
The initiative demanded that medical and health-related measures in schools require the explicit consent of schoolchildren or their parents who are capable of judgment, as stated in the voting message.
For example, parents should have been consulted if masks were compulsory. Written consent for an examination and corresponding measures would also have had to be obtained in the event of a head lice infestation. This would have entailed a considerable administrative burden, the government explained in the dispatch.
The government and parliament recommended that the initiative be rejected. "The current regulations in primary school and healthcare legislation are proportionate and take self-determination and personal responsibility into account as far as possible," explained the government in the referendum proposal.
In the event of a pandemic, the laws of the federal government would apply. Another counter-argument put forward by the cantonal government was that a cantonal provision such as the one demanded by this initiative would be severely restricted and lose its validity. According to a press release on Sunday, it noted the result of the vote "with satisfaction".
©Keystone/SDA
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