Liechtenstein constitutional referendum, 2012

Principality of Liechtenstein

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A constitutional referendum was held in Liechtenstein on 1 July 2012^[1] concerning limiting the extensive veto powers held by the Prince of Liechtenstein. The proposals were rejected by 76% of voters.^[1]

Background

Prior to the 2011 referendum on abortion, Regent Alois had threatened to veto the change to the law to allow voluntary abortion in the first twelve weeks of pregnancy even if the referendum passed.^[1]^[2]

The question was agreed on 9 February, and 1,732 signatures were collected between 29 March and 9 May.^[1] Of these, 1,726 were declared valid, exceeding the 1,500 required to force a referendum.^[1] The Landtag rejected the law on 23 May by a vote of 18 to 7 and subsequently set the date of the referendum.^[1]

Proposed changes

The proposed changes would have modified articles 9, 65, 66 and 112 of the constitution.^[1] Article 9 stated "Every law requires for its validity the sanction of the Prince", and would have been amended to add "or approval in a referendum." Article 65 would have had the sentence "If the sanction of the Prince is not received within six months, it shall be deemed to be denied" removed.^[1]

Campaign

As a result, an initiative called "Damit deine Stimme zählt" ("So that your voice counts") was launched to change the constitution to prevent the Prince from vetoing legislation approved in referendums.^[1] To counter the campaign, opponents of the change set up a group called "Für Gott, Fürst und Vaterland" ("For God, prince and fatherland").^[3]

The Princely family threatened to veto the referendum if it resulted in a vote in favour of removing the veto,^[4] whilst Alois threatened to resign if it passed.^[5]

Results

Liechtenstein constitutional referendum, 2012
Choice	Votes	%
No	11,681	76.43
Yes	3,602	23.57
Valid votes	15,283	96.69
Invalid or blank votes	524	3.31
Total votes	15,807	100.00
Registered voters and turnout	19,076	82.89
Source: Direct Democracy

References

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Liechtenstein, 1 July 2012: Decreased veto of the Prince Direct Democracy (German)
↑ Liechtenstein, 18 September 2011: deadline solution to abortion Direct Democracy (German)
↑ Copley, Caroline (July 1, 2012). "Liechtenstein: 'For God, the prince and the country'". Glode and Mail. Vaduz. Retrieved July 3, 2012.
↑ Liechtenstein royals rejects plan to remove veto CBS News, 11 February 2012
↑ Liechtenstein votes to keep royal veto The Local, 2 July 2012

Elections and referendums in Liechtenstein

General elections	1862 1866 1868 1869 1872 1875 1877 1886 1890 1894 1898 1902 1906 1910 1914 1918 1922 1926 (Jan) 1926 (Apr) 1928 1930 1932 1936 1939 1945 1949 1953 (Feb) 1953 (Jun) 1957 1958 1962 1966 1970 1974 1978 1982 1986 1989 1993 (Feb) 1993 (Oct) 1997 2001 2005 2009 2013

Referendums	1919 1921 1922 1924 1925* 1926 1927* 1929 1930* 1931 1932 1935 1937 1945 1947* 1949 1950 1952 1954 1961* 1962 1964 1965 1967 1968* 1970 1971 1972 1973* 1975* 1976 1977 1980 1981 1984 1985* 1986 1987 1988* 1989* 1990 1991 1992* 1993 1995 1999 2000* 2002* 2003 2004 2005 2006 2009* 2011* 2012 2014 2015 2016

* More than one referendum held during the year

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