The draft referendum in Austria was held on January 20, 2013 . He had to decide on the preservation of the army by conscription or cancellation of the draft and the transition to a professional army. Although the referendum was held as a plebiscite and was not legally binding, the Social Democratic Party of Austria (SDPA) and the Austrian People's Party (ANP), the main political parties in Austria, announced in advance that they would implement its decision.
Voters with a great advantage (60%) spoke in favor of maintaining the draft and against the formation of a professional army. [1] The turnout was 52.4%.
Content
History
In 1996, France refused the draft, and in 2011 Germany switched to the professional army [1] . By 2013, in Europe, most countries had a professional army. The appeal remained in 5 NATO countries (Denmark, Estonia, Greece, Norway and Turkey), as well as in Cyprus, Ukraine, Belarus, Finland, Moldova, Russia, Switzerland [1] .
The question of the need for a referendum on conscription in Austria was raised during the election campaign in October 2010 by the mayor of Vienna, Michael Hoiplem (SDP). The Greens , the Alliance for the Future of Austria , the Communist Party of Austria , the Liberal Forum, the Pirate Party and the supported the referendum, while the ANP and the Austrian Freedom Party (APS) advocated the maintenance of universal military service. However, in August 2012, the leader of the ANP, Michael Spindelegger, stated that his party supported the idea of the SDPA to hold a referendum [2] .
Campaign
A plebiscite was scheduled for January 20, 2013. All voters (citizens over 16 years old) registered on November 28 [3] could participate in it. On December 27, 2012, the Austrian Federal Ministry of the Interior announced that 6,379,511 voters were registered, including 3,309,716 women and 3,069,795 men [4] . Compared to the 2010 presidential election, the number of voters increased by 23,711 (0.37%).
- The referendum initiator, SDPA advocated the introduction of a professional army and a voluntary “social year” [5] . The party attributed this to a global trend in this matter. By the end of 2012, a professional army already existed in 21 countries from 27 countries of the European Union . They stated that the main challenges of the 21st century , such as cybercrime and the fight against terrorism, cannot be solved by the traditional mass army [5] .
- On the contrary, the Austrian People’s Party believed that conscription would be “an indispensable contribution for Austria,” since it was important for maintaining the sovereignty and neutrality of the country, civil defense, and supporting the social system of public service [6] . However, the ANP believed that the general military duty should be reformed so that conscripts “could make better use of their time” [7] .
Results
| Austrian draft referendum Should I cancel the draft? | ||
|---|---|---|
| Yes or no | Votes | Percent |
| Not | 1 947 116 | 59.7% |
| Yes | 1 315 278 | 40.3% |
| Valid votes | 3,262,394 | 97.5% |
| Invalid votes | 82 546 | 2.5% |
| Total votes | 3 344 940 | 100.00% |
| Turnout | 52.4% | |
| Electorate | 6 378 478 | |
| Source: Austrian Ministry of the Interior | ||
Notes
- ↑ 1 2 3 Austrians vote 'to keep conscription'
- ↑ Wehrpflicht: Volksbefragung übers Heer im Jänner , DiePresse.com , 27.August 2012.
- ↑ Bundespräsident unterschrieb Regierungs-Vorschlag - Wehrpflicht-Volksbefragung am 20. Jänner ist fix , Wiener Zeitung , November 9, 2012.
- ↑ Volksbefragung 2013 , Bundesministerium für Inneres , 27. Dezember 2012. Abgerufen am 30. Dezember 2012.
- ↑ 1 2 Website der SPÖ zur Volksbefragung, Abschnitt Profiheer Archived on January 29, 2013.
- ↑ Warum Wehrpflicht, Zivildienst und Katastrophenschutz? Archived January 19, 2013. , Artikel auf den Seiten der ÖVP vom 29. Oktober 2012
- ↑ ÖVP steht für ein reformiertes Bundesheer (link not available) , Artikel auf den Seiten der ÖVP vom 28. November 2012
Links
- Volksbefragung 2013 (Referendum 2013. Official website.) (German)
- Demographic and territorial indicators of the results of the referendum (German)