Keystone
For the Bernese Jurassic Council (BJR) a new vote on the canton affiliation of the small village Belprahon BE would be illegal. As representatives said to the media in Neuenstadt on Wednesday, the BJR believes that there is no legal basis for a renewed vote.
The council previously approved a declaration of this wording, which had been introduced by the SVP and FDP parliamentary groups in the BJR, with a large majority. BJR President Virginie Heyer told the media that the council regretted the remarks made by the Belprahon local council on May 25th.
At that time, the executive of the Bernese Jura village with 300 inhabitants announced that they wanted to have another vote on the future canton of the municipality on June 27th. In 2017, Belprahon had already voted on it and just spoke out in favor of remaining with the canton of Bern.
The local council of Belprahon thinks that in 2017 the situation was unclear because of the turmoil after an equal vote in neighboring Moutier. It therefore makes sense to have another vote in Belprahon after the situation in Moutier has been clarified.
For the Bern Jurassic Council, however, the Jura question is settled in Moutier after the new vote on March 28 of this year. “All municipalities in the Bernese Jura except Moutier remain Bernese,” the council writes in its declaration.
The Bernese cantonal government does not want to respond to Belprahon’s request for a new ballot to be held, as District President Pierre Alain Schnegg recently made clear. The Jura cantonal government does not want to support Belprahone’s executive either.
The Bern Jurassic Council was set up to protect the interests of the French-speaking minority of the Bernese Jura. The SVP and FDP parliamentary groups in the council belong to the loyal camp.
–
