- Voting Sunday is over: While voters rejected the “No 10 Million Switzerland” initiative with 54.8 percent, the community service reform received a narrow majority with 52.5 percent.
- The post-vote survey by LeeWas shows that the SVP initiative was only able to score points among its own base, in rural areas and among people with low incomes.
- The men voted yes to the new civil service law, which aims to strengthen the army. The women rejected the reform.
The result was in the end clearer than expected: 54.8 percent of the electorate said no to a population cap. Limiting the population to ten million people until 2050 is therefore off the table. In return, 52.5 percent approved the new civil service law, which makes access to civil service more difficult and is intended to strengthen the army.
The post-vote surveys by LeeWas on behalf of 20 Minuten and Tamedia show who was in favor of which proposal, which rifts opened up and how well the parties reached their base.
Only the SVP base said yes to the cap
With 95 percent, only the SVP base unanimously agreed with their party’s “No 10 Million Switzerland” initiative. All other parties rejected the population cap.
However, with a yes share of 43 and 33 percent, the members of the FDP and the Center were divided. In the SP, approval was twelve percent, in the GLP it was 15 percent and in the Greens it was 17 percent.
Men want to make access to community service more difficult
The fact that 52.5 percent voted yes to the new community service law on Sunday is due to the men: 58 percent of them voted in favor of making access to community service more difficult. The women rejected the proposal with 53 percent.
The usual picture emerged for the parties: the SVP base was most in favor of the new civil service law (75 percent), followed by the FDP (71 percent) and the center (60 percent).
The left-wing parties rejected the proposal. The strongest were the SP with 80 percent, the Greens with 76 percent and the GLP with 59 percent.
While the new community service law received a majority of 55 percent in the countryside and in the agglo, the cities rejected it with 57 percent. Only boys between the ages of 18 and 34 rejected the proposal at 53 percent. Among older people, approval increases with increasing age.
While the cities clearly rejected the SVP initiative with 64 percent, the state narrowly agreed with a yes share of 51 percent. Even in the agglomeration, the population cap did not find a majority with 55 percent voting against.
The Röstigraben also became visible: “French-speaking Switzerland was significantly more critical of the proposal than German-speaking Switzerland or Italian-speaking Switzerland,” explains political scientist Cloé Jans from Gfs Bern.
Are you satisfied with the results of the votes?
The survey also shows that the higher the income, the more likely people are to say no. The initiative only found a slim majority of 51 percent among those who earn less than 4,000 francs a month. A similar correlation can be seen with educational attainment. The lower this is, the higher the yes percentage.
Everything about the votes and results in Switzerland
On June 14th, Switzerland voted on the SVP’s 10 million initiative and stricter rules for community service. The voter turnout was 58 percent.
The results of the votes:
Delia Bachmann (dba), born in 1993, has been working for 20 minutes since 2024. As an editor in the politics department, she reports on what is happening in Federal Bern.
Christina Pirskanen (pir) has been working for 20 minutes since 2022. She has been deputy since January 2026. Head of the Politics Department.
