Thousands of signatures for Bern initiative disappear
The city of Bern discovered that the signatures were missing after looking into their verification system.
Keystone-SDA
Select your language
Generated with artificial intelligence.
Listening: Thousands of signatures for Bern initiative disappear
A postal item containing signatures to be certified for the Bern city's minimum wage initiative has gone missing from the local Chancellery. This was announced by the city on Monday. According to the initiative committee, around 1,600 signatures are involved.
This content was published on
2 minutes
Keystone-SDA
Deutsch
de
1600 Unterschriften zu Stadtberner Initiative spurlos verschwunden
Original
A registered letter with signed signature sheets was delivered to the city chancellery on July 16, the city announced. However, the package was never received by the internal office responsible for checking the signatures.
The loss became known internally last week after the initiative committee enquired about the status of signature controls. Investigations have so far been unsuccessful.
Criminal behavior cannot be ruled out, the city announced. For this reason, charges against persons unknown are also being considered.
What happens next is unclear. “The City Chancellery is currently examining the legal options for resolving the situation”, the press release states. Everything will be done “to limit the damage”.
In Bern, 5,000 valid signatures are required for a city initiative to come to a vote. The initiative was launched on May 1; the regular deadline for collecting signatures ends on November 1.
Translated from German by DeepL/jdp
This news story has been written and carefully fact-checked by an external editorial team. At SWI swissinfo.ch we select the most relevant news for an international audience and use automatic translation tools such as DeepL to translate it into English. Providing you with automatically translated news gives us the time to write more in-depth articles.
If you want to know more about how we work, have a look here, if you want to learn more about how we use technology, click here, and if you have feedback on this news story please write to english@swissinfo.ch.
Most Read Swiss Abroad
More
The Swiss Alps, a new Eldorado for real estate developers
Should Switzerland take measures to support its struggling industries?
Industrial policies are back in fashion, not only in the United States but also in the EU. Should Switzerland, where various industries are struggling, draw inspiration from such policies?
As a Swiss Abroad, how do you feel about the emergence of more conservative family policies in some US states?
In recent years several US states have adopted more conservative policies on family issues, abortion and education. As a Swiss citizen living there, how do you view this development?
Swiss company supplies Serbia with surveillance technology
This content was published on
A Swiss company has supplied the Serbian government with a geolocation and eavesdropping system, the SonntagsBlick reported on Sunday.
This content was published on
A committee of Switzerland’s House of Representatives has found the people’s initiative to limit fireworks too extreme, but has suggested a counter-proposal.
UN investigators report evidence of crimes in Syria and call for national dialogue
This content was published on
UN investigators in Geneva report ample evidence of crimes in Syria and urge the regime to follow through on its promise of a national dialogue.
Swiss Trade Union warns EU deal could threaten wages
This content was published on
The Swiss Trade Union Federation warns that the new bilateral agreement between Switzerland and the EU could threaten wage protection and public services.
Credit Suisse fines from Mozambique scandal to fund victims’ compensation
This content was published on
The fines imposed on Credit Suisse for the Mozambique scandal will be allocated to a fund for the victims, amounting to $105.5 million.
You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here . Please join us!
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.