Switzerland probes suspected forgery of signatures for popular initiatives

Swiss federal prosecutors and police searched several houses on Tuesday at firms paid to collect signatures for initiatives to change the constitution as part of investigations into suspected forgery, authorities said on Wednesday.

Various people were questioned, the Office of the Attorney General, or OAG, said in a statement, adding that the probes relate to suspected electoral fraud involving about 30,000 signatures flagged as suspicious since 2022.

The signatures were gathered for around 20 so-called popular initiatives, the OAG said.

Such national initiatives, if backed by 100,000 valid signatures within 18 months, are put to public votes under Switzerland's system of direct democracy.

RECOMMENDED FOR YOU

Zambia Roundup: Election irregularities, Kafwaya death probe and ZCCM-IH’s K4.92bn loss

Prosecutors did not say what changes to the Swiss constitution the 20 initiatives were about.

The OAG said investigation are complicated by the fact that signature collectors are not legally required to identify themselves and are often young people living abroad.