Jura and Bern voters to decide Moutier’s fate

If a majority of voters in one of the two cantons rejects the proposal, the entire process will be abandoned and Moutier will remain part of Bern. Keystone / Jean-Christophe Bott

A crucial vote will take place on September 22 regarding the future of the town of Moutier in northwestern Switzerland. Citizens in cantons Bern and Jura will decide on Moutier’s wish to leave German-speaking canton Bern and join French-speaking canton Jura. 

Following the decision of the citizens of Moutier in March 2021 to switch cantons, a document laying out the main modalities for this cantonal change was drawn up. It aims to ensure continuity in terms of administration, education, hospital care and legal issues.

The agreement is the result of lengthy negotiations and has been validated by the Bern and Jura governments and the two respective cantonal parliaments. It is now up to the populations of the two cantons to decide simultaneously in a vote on September 22.

If a majority of voters in one of the two cantons rejects the proposal, the entire process will be abandoned and Moutier will remain part of Bern. But not many people are keen on this scenario, at least among officials from the federal government and the two cantons, as this could lead to a resurgence of tensions in a region still marked by the Jura issue [independence from canton Bern]. A yes vote therefore seems on the cards, which should close a chapter in a story that has affected the life of an entire region.

If voters back Moutier’s plan on September 22, the document will be submitted to the federal parliament next year and Moutier should join canton Jura in 2026.

Both governments campaign for a yes vote

Last week the governments of the two cantons launched a campaign calling for support for the agreement. For the Bern cantonal government, the document offers positive and balanced solutions in the interest of the people of both cantons. This document also ensures the residents of Moutier continued access to state services and their political rights.

“The text is complete and it is a good compromise,” said Jura politician Nathalie Barthoulot. She reiterated that if it is rejected by one of the cantons, Moutier will remain part of canton Bern. “There is no possibility of renegotiating the concordat,” she told Swiss public television, RTS. “We must remember that the arrival of Moutier in our canton will inevitably create a positive dynamic and that the people of Moutier have, on two occasions, expressed their wish to join our canton.”

The agreement puts an end to the Jura issue, said Bern politician Pierre Alain Schnegg when presenting his government’s position. “The opponents of this text are wrong when they claim that this debate will never be closed,” he said.

The Jura Autonomist Movement and the Bélier group declared in June that the Jura issue was not over, evoking the fate of the municipality of Belprahon, which remained part of canton Bern following a close vote.

The Moutier document is a supra-cantonal contract that takes precedence over the laws of the two cantons. Jura could therefore not take the initiative alone to open the way to a new change of cantonal affiliation of a municipality in the Bernese Jura. “That time is over,” said Schnegg.

+Moutier: the Swiss conflict that has been ongoing for more than 200 years

The document submitted to voters on September 22 states that the two cantons commit to respect their borders in the spirit of the peace of the Confederation, thus putting an end to any territorial dispute. “The cantonal borders will therefore no longer move,” said Schnegg.

Translated from French by Simon Bradley/ts