Fusion Bern-Ostermundigen | February 2, 2023
The Bern government does not want to know anything about a postponement of the municipal merger vote. Voters are scheduled to decide on the merger on October 22 as planned.
The city of Bern is sticking to the voting date for the merger of municipalities.Photo: Keystone, Peter Klaunzer
SVP City Councilor Thomas Fuchs had criticized the chosen date in mid-January. For one thing, the important merger vote falls on the same date as the federal elections. This could overwhelm voters.
On the other hand, the template load is very unevenly distributed. While voters would have to decide on no fewer than eight bills in June, only the merger vote is on the table in October. “I think this plan is really bad,” Fuchs was recently quoted as saying in the Bernese Tamedia papers.
The municipal council of the city of Bern wants to stick to the voting date of October 22nd, as it states in a response to a small question from Fuchs published on Thursday.
The merger vote was originally scheduled for June, but additional rounds of negotiations and more comprehensive clarifications meant that date was dropped. The two municipal councils of Ostermundigen and Bern then chose the next possible date, October 22nd.
If the merger is accepted, there will be enough time to prepare the first joint elections and the joint budget, the city council of Bern stated in its answer.
He concedes that, as a rule, votes are not scheduled for the same date as the federal elections. However, it is legally permissible. “In view of this and the timing of the fusion project, the municipal council is holding October 22 as the voting date,” writes the city government.
