Five referendums were held in Switzerland during 1997.[1] The first three were held on 8 June on two popular initiatives "EU accession talks in front of the people" and "for a ban on arms exports" and a federal resolution on ending the federal monopoly on producing and selling gunpowder. The two popular initiatives were both rejected, whilst the end of the gunpowder monopoly was approved.[1]
The last two were held on 28 September on a federal resolution on financing unemployment insurance and a popular initiative "youth without drugs". Both were rejected by voters.[2]
| Month | Question | For | Against | Blank/invalid | Total | Registered voters | Turnout | Cantons for | Cantons against | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Votes | % | Votes | % | Blank | Invalid | Full | Half | Full | Half | ||||||
| align=left rowspan=3 | June | EU accession talks | 416,720 | 25.9 | 1,189,440 | 74.1 | 24,417 | 4,987 | 1,635,564 | 4,614,662 | 35.4 | 0 | 0 | 20 | 6 |
| Banning arms exports | 361,164 | 22.5 | 1,243,869 | 77.5 | 26,845 | 4,955 | 1,636,833 | 35.5 | 0 | 0 | 20 | 6 | |||
| Ending the gunpowder monopoly | 1,268,162 | 82.2 | 275,049 | 17.8 | 77,520 | 6,165 | 1,626,896 | 35.3 | 20 | 6 | 0 | 0 | |||
| align=left rowspan=2 | September | Financing unemployment insurance | 901,361 | 49.2 | 931,457 | 50.8 | 37,703 | 6,101 | 1,876,622 | 4,620,084 | 40.6 | ||||
| Youth without drugs initiative | 545,713 | 29.3 | 1,314,060 | 70.7 | 20,248 | 6,033 | 1,886,054 | 40.8 | 0 | 0 | 20 | 6 | |||
| align=left colspan=15 | Source: Nohlen & Stöver | ||||||||||||||