Runway extension referendum in Kloten: Airport opponents want to stop delivery of voting booklet

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On March 3, 2024, a vote is planned in Zurich on the expansion of slopes 28 and 32 in Kloten. The voting battle over airport expansion is now heating up: The referendum committee wants to stop distribution of the voting booklet.

Opponents of enlargement submitted a request to the Zurich government council to take precautionary measures: “We demand that the wrong voting newspaper be removed from its website and its distribution to the public be stopped,” explains vice-president Urs Dietschi (69) of the citizen-organized organization Fair in Air, compared to Blick.

Critics from aircraft noise opponents and left-wing green parties filed a complaint regarding voting rights in late December. The canton removed key information opposing expansion from the voting documents (Blick reports).

Controversial documents sent

The Zurich government council, to which the complaint was forwarded, has not dealt with the issue to date. The disputed voting documents are now in the hands of the communities. “Therefore, the injunction to immediately halt the extradition is all the more urgent,” Dietschi said.

Government spokesman Andreas Melchior confirmed the request had been received. But it leaves open the question of why the governing council has not yet addressed the voting rights complaint. “I cannot comment on this due to ongoing proceedings,” he says.

What is known is that the government council supports the extension of the slopes. The referendum committee therefore assumes that those responsible will reject both the voting rights complaint and the request for injunctive relief. In such a case, opponents of expansion are determined to take the case to the Federal Court. Dietschi: “Anyone who holds a popular referendum must be able to fully include their arguments in the official voting documents. “This is the only way those who have the right to vote can be informed about the arguments for and against.”

little chance

It seems unlikely that the Federal Court will actually stop the vote. A similar complaint arose during a vote on the use of social detectives in 2018. At the time, the Federal Court said that interference by injunction at such a late stage of the voting preparations could not be justified.

However, the court noted that the vote could later be overturned if the proposal was accepted due to “misleading information.” This probably also applies to the airport referendum.

Source :Blick