GENEVA – Switzerland has voted and approved an initiative to counter what the right-wing UDC/SVP party has called, “mass-immigration”.

The UDC-sponsored initiative seeking to curb immigration and re-introduce immigration quotas to reduce asylum claims and new work permits, divided voters and has put Switzerland in “a tight spot”, said Geneva cantonal authorities during a press conference this afternoon.

The Swiss electoral authority shows interesting divides.

All French-speaking cantons rejected the initiative although most by a tight margin, while 90% of German-speaking cantons approved the measure, many overwhelmingly so.

The exception? Three German-speaking cantons with large numbers of expats and immigrants such as Basel City, Zug and Zurich.

In total, 17 cantons have said yes, 8 have said no.

It was a close vote but at the end, both the number of cantons and people who approved the initiative prevailed.

According to RTS, the initiative was approved by 50.34% of the population with a vote count difference of 19,516.

• • Aargau: approved the initiative by 55%
  • Appenzell Int.: approved the initiative by 63%
  • Appenzell Ext.: approved the initiative by 54%
  • Basel-Landschaft: approved the initiative by a close margin of 50.6%
  • Basel-Stadt (city): rejected the initiative by a large 61%
  • Bern: approved by 51.1%
  • Fribourg: rejected the initiative by a mere 51%
  • Geneva: rejected the initiative with a loud 60.8%
  • Glarus: approved the initiative by 59%
  • Grisons (Graubünden): approved the initiative by a mere 50.5%
  • Jura: rejected the initiative with 55.9%
  • Lucerne: approved the initiative by 53%
  • Neuchâtel: rejected the initiative by 59%
  • Nidwalden: approved the initiative by 58.8%
  • Obwalden: approved the initiative by 59%
  • Schaffhausen: approved the initiative by 58%
  • Schwyz: approved the initiative by a loud 63%
  • Solothurn: approved the initiative by 54%
  • St. Gallen: approved the initiative by 55.9%
  • Thurgau: approved the initiative by 57.8%
  • Ticino: approved the initiative with the largest margin in the confederation, 68%
  • Uri: approved the initiative by 58%
  • Valais: rejected the initiative by 51.6%
  • Vaud: rejected the initiative by a healthy 61%
  • Zug: rejected the initiative by a mere 50.06%
  • Zürich: pending

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