Swiss Democracy in Question: Electoral Fraud Investigation Unfolds

Swiss federal prosecutors are investigating possible electoral fraud after an advocacy group found thousands of fake signatures in voter rolls. The findings could undermine the foundation of Switzerland's direct democracy. The investigation follows a criminal complaint by the Citizen Service initiative after nearly a third of 10,000 signatures collected were found to be fake.

Swiss federal prosecutors say they have ordered house searches and interrogations as part of an investigation into potential electoral fraud after an advocacy group unearthed thousands of fake signatures in voter rolls.

Newspapers in the Swiss media group Tamedia first reported that the initiative "Service Citoyen" (Citizen Service) has filed a criminal complaint alleging malfeasance that could have skewed results in Swiss elections.

The revelation has jolted Switzerland's vaunted system of direct democracy, where mail-in balloting is the main way that voters cast ballots and where referendums four times a year give citizens a direct say in policymaking. The next such referendum is scheduled for September 22, where a biodiversity project is among issues on the ballot.

Advocacy group co-president Noemie Roten commissioned an outside firm last year to collect some 10,000 signatures on voter rolls, and she subsequently discovered that nearly a third appeared fake — involving bogus addresses, falsified birth dates, and repeated signatures. She issued a 236-page report to the Swiss attorney-general's office, which said in an e-mail to The Associated Press on Tuesday that it is investigating the matter. In a phone interview, Roten said the findings "could indeed jeopardize the confidence that Swiss citizens have in direct democracy." In Switzerland, advocacy groups and others that want to float proposals for referendums must collect at least 100,000 signatures from eligible voters to qualify for national votes, and at times turn to outside firms to do so. The Swiss federal chancellery, which oversees national elections, did not immediately respond to a request for comment from the AP about the possible impact of the suspected wrongdoing.

(With inputs from agencies.)