Swiss Abroad voted against deportation initiative

Swiss citizens living abroad voted clearly against the rightwing Swiss People’s initiative to deport foreign criminals, according to figures from eight cantons.

However, they were in favour of a counter-proposal supported by the Swiss parliament.

The Swiss on Sunday voted in an opposite manner. Almost 53 per cent were in favour of the initiative, whereas 54.2 per cent rejected the counter-proposal.

Figures show the biggest disparity was in canton Appenzell Inner Rhodes. Only 39.3 per cent of the Swiss living abroad from the canton voted in favour of the initiative, whereas Swiss living there voted by 65.7 per cent to accept it.

Those Swiss abroad bucking the trend were from cantons Aargau, Basel City, Lucerne, St Gallen and Thurgau.

The Swiss abroad from cantons Vaud and Geneva were also against the initiative, as were Swiss voters living in them.

In seven of the eight cantons, the Swiss abroad voted in favour of the counter-proposal. Only canton Geneva turned it down with a small majority of 50.3 per cent.