Swiss reject divisive anti immigration proposal

BERN – The Swiss yesterday appeared to have voted down a divisive anti-immigration proposal to cap the country’s population, early projections showed. Shortly after polls closed at noon, initial projections from the gfs.bern institute indicated around 55% opposition to the initiative, which had sparked warnings of “chaos” and devastating impacts for the Swiss economy and European Union relations. “We are very relieved and happy.

This is an important result for our country and for our relations with the EU,” Monika Ruhl, director of the employers’ organisation economiesuisse, told public broadcaster RTS. Opinion polls had suggested that the vote, held under Switzerland’s direct democracy system, would be tight.