A popular vote in Switzerland in November 2009 approved banning the building of what in the country?
Religion in Switzerland to such a change, with only 21.1% voting in support, to the effect of the retention of the "Landeskirchen" system. In November 2009, 57.5% of Swiss voters approved of a popular initiative to ban the construction of minarets in Switzerland. The four existing Swiss minarets, at mosques in Zürich, Geneva, Winterthur and Wangen bei Olten are not affected by the ban. Full freedom of religion has been guaranteed since the revised Swiss Constitution of 1874 (Article 49). During the Old Swiss Confederacy, there had been no "de facto" freedom of religion, with persecution of Anabaptists in particular well into the
Right of foreigners to vote in Switzerland Right of foreigners to vote in Switzerland The right of foreigners to vote in Switzerland is an ongoing political issue in the country. Switzerland is a federal nation. As such, the cantons have extensive powers to enact their own legislation (similar to the arrangement in the states of the United States). For this reason, the rules regarding the rights of foreign residents to vote differ considerably throughout Switzerland. At federal level, exercising one's political rights in the strictest sense (the right to stand for election and to vote in popular initiatives and referendums) is limited to Swiss citizens aged 18