Three

referendum A referendum (plural: referendums or less commonly referenda) is a direct vote by the electorate on a proposal, law, or political issue. This is in contrast to an issue being voted on by a representative. This may result in the adoption of a ...

s were held in

Liechtenstein Liechtenstein (), officially the Principality of Liechtenstein (german: link=no, Fürstentum Liechtenstein), is a German-speaking microstate located in the Alps between Austria and Switzerland. Liechtenstein is a semi-constitutional monarchy ...

during 2011. The first on approving the registered partnership law was held between 17 and 19 June, and was approved by 68.8% of voters. The law went into effect on 1 September. The second was held on 18 September on allowing

abortion Abortion is the termination of a pregnancy by removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus. An abortion that occurs without intervention is known as a miscarriage or "spontaneous abortion"; these occur in approximately 30% to 40% of pregn ...

within the first twelve weeks of pregnancy.

Prince Alois Alois, Hereditary Prince and Regent of Liechtenstein, Count of Rietberg (Alois Philipp Maria; born 11 June 1968), is the eldest son of Hans-Adam II, Prince of Liechtenstein, and Marie, Princess of Liechtenstein, Countess Marie Kinsky von Wchini ...

had threatened to veto the result of the referendum should it have turned out in favour, but ultimately it was rejected by voters. The third was on building a new national hospital in

Vaduz Vaduz ( or , High Alemannic pronunciation: [])Hans Stricker, Toni Banzer, Herbert Hilbe: ''Liechtensteiner Namenbuch. Die Orts- und Flurnamen des Fürstentums Liechtenstein.'' Band 2: ''Die Namen der Gemeinden Triesenberg, Vaduz, Schaan.'' Hrsg. ...

was held on 30 October, and was also rejected.

Registered partnership law

The registered partnership law (Lebenspartnerschaft) was passed unanimously by the

Landtag of Liechtenstein The Landtag of the Principality of Liechtenstein (german: Landtag des Fürstentums Liechtenstein), commonly referred to as the Landtag of Liechtenstein (german: Liechtensteinischer Landtag), is the unicameral parliament of Liechtenstein. Q ...

in the second reading on March 16 and published on March 21, 2011. However, the group Vox Populi, led by a cousin of archbishop

Wolfgang Haas Wolfgang Haas (born 7 August 1948) is a Liechtenstein-born prelate of the Catholic Church who has been the first archbishop of the Archdiocese of Vaduz in Liechtenstein since 1998. He was Bishop of Chur in Switzerland from 1990 to 1997, after t ...

, announced its intention to force a referendum. According to the constitution, the organisation had until 21 April (30 days) to collect at least 1000 signatures. Because the necessary signatures were gathered (1208 valid signatures), a referendum was held on the evening of 17 June and the morning of 19 June 2011.

Campaign

The registered partnership law was supported by the government and all parties in the Landtag, but opposed by the socially conservative

advocacy group Advocacy groups, also known as interest groups, special interest groups, lobbying groups or pressure groups use various forms of advocacy in order to influence public opinion and ultimately policy. They play an important role in the developm ...

"Vox Populi" and the

Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Vaduz The Archdiocese of Vaduz encompasses the territory of the Principality of Liechtenstein. History The Archdiocese of Vaduz was erected by Pope John Paul II in the apostolic constitution ''Ad satius consulendum'' on 2 December 1997. Before then i ...

New hospital

On 28 June the

Landtag A Landtag (State Diet) is generally the legislative assembly or parliament of a federated state or other subnational self-governing entity in German-speaking nations. It is usually a unicameral assembly exercising legislative competence in non- ...

passed a bill approving spending 83 million

francs The franc is any of various units of currency. One franc is typically divided into 100 centimes. The name is said to derive from the Latin inscription ''francorum rex'' (King of the Franks) used on early French coins and until the 18th centu ...

on the construction of a national hospital in

by 14 votes to 11. A request for an advisory referendum was rejected by 12 votes to 11, but a committee gathered 2,951 signatures between 8 July and 3 August, forcing a referendum.Liechtenstein, 30 October 2011: New build of the National Hospital
Direct Democracy

Results

Registered partnerships

The referendum achieved a good turnout of about 70 percent as of Friday evening because of a large majority of voters who had already used postal voting. Total turnout was 74.2 percent.

Abortion

National hospital

References

External links

Referendums homepage
Government of Liechtenstein
Website of supporters of the registered partnership law

Website of opponents of the registered partnership law
2011 referendums 2011 in Liechtenstein Abortion in Liechtenstein Health in Liechtenstein LGBT rights in Liechtenstein Referendums in Liechtenstein Abortion referendums {{Liechtenstein-stub