TheLandsgemeinde ("cantonal assembly";German:[ˈlantsɡəˌmaɪndə], pluralLandsgemeinden) is a public, non-secret ballot voting system operating bymajority rule. Still in use – in a few places – at thesubnational political level in Switzerland, it was formerly practiced in eightcantons. For practical reasons[citation needed], theLandsgemeinde has been abolished at the cantonal level in all but two cantons where it still holds the highest political authority:Appenzell Innerrhoden andGlarus. TheLandsgemeinde is also convened in somedistricts ofAppenzell Innerrhoden,Grisons andSchwyz to vote on local questions.
The German termLandsgemeinde itself is attested from at least the 16th century, in the 1561 dictionary ofPictorius.It is a compound fromLand "land, canton; rural canton" andGemeinde "community, commune".
Eligible citizens of thecanton ordistrict meet on a certain day in the open air to decide on specific issues. Voting is accomplished by raising one's hand in favor of a motion. Historically, the only proof of citizenship necessary for men to enter the voting area was to show their ceremonial sword or Swiss military sidearm (bayonet); this gave proof that they were a freeman allowed tobear arms and to vote. While voting cards have been introduced, inAppenzell presenting a sidearm is still a valid alternative to the voting card for men.
TheLandsgemeinde has been the sovereign institution of the Swiss rural cantons since the late Middle Ages, while in the city-cantons such asLucerne,Schaffhausen, orBern, a general assembly of all citizens was never established.
Similar assemblies in dependent territories were known under terms such asTalgemeinde (forTalschaften, used inUrsern,Hasli,Obersimmental),Teding (Engelberg),Parlamento (Leventina), andZendgemeinden (for theZenden or districts ofValais), but also asLandsgemeinde inToggenburg and in parts ofGrisons.[1]
At theLandsgemeinde, citizens of a district or canton assemble annually in a public space under open sky to vote on a series ofballot questions. Depending on the canton, they raise their hand or voter identification card to either accept or reject the motion, which constitutes anon-secret ballot. Decision is taken bymajority rule, and in case of incertitude, theLandammann estimates on which side the majority falls with the help of his colleagues from the communal council.
The duration of theLandsgemeinde varies significantly between the two cantons that still convene it. InGlarus, because of the high level of deliberation and possibility for citizens to propose an amendment of an existing law article or the introduction of a new one, theLandsgemeinde lasts between 2 and 4.5 hours on average. InAppenzell Innerrhoden on the other hand, deliberation is limited, thus theLandsgemeinden usually end after 1 to 2.5 hours.[2]
Symptomatic of thefederalist system of Switzerland,[3] theLandsgemeinde differs in the scope of its usage from canton to canton. The legislative power is concerned both inAppenzell Innerrhoden andGlarus, where theLandsgemeinde can be used to implement laws or modify the cantonal constitution. InAppenzell Innerrhoden, theLandsgemeinde can also cover governmental issues,[4] while inGlarus tax laws are regulated byLandsgemeinde decision and alternative legislative counterproposals ('constructive referendums') can be formulated by the citizens and voted on this occasion.[5] In neither of the two cantons is theLandsgemeinde used to elect the parliament.[6]
TheLandsgemeinde assembly is a tradition with continuity back to the later Middle Ages, first recorded in the context of theformation of the Old Swiss Confederacy. The tradition ultimately continues theGermanicthing, although not uninterruptedly, as theAlamanni had lost their independence to theFrankish Empire in the 8th century but re-emerging in territories withimperial immediacy since the 13th century.
The firstLandsgemeinde proper is attested forUri in 1231; however, these early assemblies grew seamlessly out of the older institution ofblood courts (assemblies with the purpose of dispensing judgement on criminal offenses, seehigh justice).TheMiddle Latin texts when recording aLandsgemeinde usually express this by makinguniversitas "the universality", orcommunitas hominum "the community of men" of a certain canton the subject of a sentence (see, for example, theFederal Charter of 1291), in order to emphasize that the decision was made by the community (direct democracy) rather than by a political elite.
In theOld Swiss Confederacy, the existence of aLandsgemeinde was the defining feature of the rural cantons (Länderorte, as opposed to the city-cantons).These Cantons were:Uri,Schwyz,Unterwalden (theforest-cantons),Glarus andAppenzell andZug.Zug took an intermediate position, as it was a city-canton which due to the existence of aLandsgemeinde was also counted under the rural cantons.
With the formation ofSwitzerland as a federal state, the formerly sovereign cantonal assemblies became subject to federal law, and theLandsgemeinden came to be seen as anachronisms.
The usage of theLandsgemeinde was progressively abandoned at the cantonal level through the 19th and 20th century.Zug andSchwyz jettisoned it in 1848, followed byUri in 1928.
Nidwalden in 1996,Appenzell Ausserrhoden in 1997 andObwalden in 1998 abolished their cantonalLandsgemeinde bysecret ballot votes.
Currently,Appenzell Innerrhoden, which rejected in 1991 byLandsgemeinde the abolition of this institution, andGlarus are the only remaining cantons to use this form of direct democracy. Beside the 1991 vote ofAppenzell Innerrhoden, the usage of theLandsgemeinde has since then never been questioned in these two cantons, which suggests that citizens are attached to their institution. Moreover, turnout rates remained constant in the last 50 years both inAppenzell Innerrhoden and inGlarus. In the latter canton a participation record of 50% was even recorded in 2001.[6]
Glarus recently introduced measures to encourage participation at theLandsgemeinde. In 2007, participation was extended to citizens aged 16 and older, which constitutes an exception in Switzerland.[7] Likewise, each year on the day of theLandsgemeinde, participants can use all public transportation in the canton for free.
InAppenzell Innerrhoden andGlarus, the modernization of the institution, for example through the potential introduction of electronic vote-counting systems is debated, but no political party is opposed to the maintenance of theLandsgemeinden.[2]
Besides the cantonal assemblies, the Swiss Confederation is supporting various projects inspired by theLandsgemeinden and built on the same ideas. For instance, the 4thCyber-Landsgemeinde was organised on April 6, 2016 inBern, with the aim to usedemocratic deliberation to foster reflections and find solutions related to the topic of cyber-security.[8] Likewise, the urban municipality ofKloten implemented in 2012 a version of theLandsgemeinde to deliberate on the allocation of funds to local projects, which enabled for example the construction of a new Kindergarten.[9]
TheLandsgemeinde forms one of the pillars of the direct democratic core of the Swiss political structure. Even if its use has sharply decreased in the past century, it is still considered as a characteristic institution of the Swiss democracy and is generally considered as aparticipative andinclusive democratic practice. However, while participation is according to thecantonal constitutions not only encouraged but also required as part of thecivic duty of the concerned individuals, it is unclear if theLandsgemeinde offers better inclusivity and fosters a higher level of participation than the more traditional secret-ballot voting methods.[10] Paul Lucardie (2014) notes for example that:
"Evidence suggests that attendance at assemblies in Appenzell and Glarus, as well as most town meetings in Vermont and possibly also in ancient Athens, has always been limited to roughly twenty per cent of the citizenry."[11]
Moreover, theinclusion of women was until recently one of the main concerns for the inclusivity of theLandsgemeinde. Up to 1991, women were not allowed in theLandsgemeinde in thecanton of Appenzell Innerrhoden, which was the last canton of Switzerland to grant women the right to vote, making it an exceptionally late introduction of women's suffrage for a European country.[12]
There have been suggestions placing theLandsgemeinde system in the vicinity of "ochlocracy" or "tyranny of the majority".[clarification needed][who?] Blum and Köhler (2006) suggested there might only be a "limited level of preliminary debate" possible leading to a failure to consider minority opinions.[13]
The open ballot system ostensibly fails to assurethe secrecy of the vote. Switzerland has explicitly introduced an exception to article 25 of its International Pact on Civil and Political Rights in order to protect theLandsgemeinde, avoiding complying with the letter of article 21.3 of theUniversal Declaration of Human Rights protecting the secrecy of the vote.[14] Switzerland has never ratified the first convention protocol of theEuropean Convention on Human Rights for a similar reason.[15]
Under such conditions,social control and othercrowd manipulation processes might then prevent citizens from voting according to their own preferences and mislead rational decisions. On the other hand, according to the ancient Greek tradition ofparrhesia, literally "saying everything", a public assembly could teach individuals to express their opinions with frankness and collective responsibility.[16]
Studies of outcomes of theLandsgemeinde in various administrative divisions (Schaub 2012, Gerber & Mueller 2014[citation needed]) seem to suggest that proper preliminary deliberation can help reach better decisions defined by the "unforced force of the better argument" (Habermas, 1992).[17][clarification needed]
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