Section 6.4. A petition signed by four per cent or more registered voters within six months, calling for a popular vote on an issue of concern, will be referred to Parliament. A Public Petitions Committee will decide on petitions submitted by individuals, community groups and organisations. If the issue or concern cannot be resolved by Parliament then it will be put to a referendum to be held within twelve months and in accordance with Article 13.4.
Please scrutinise all the proposed amendments and replies before commenting or voting. Short comments are most often read and must not exceed 100 words. You can propose an Amendment at the bottom of this page - please read the guidelines .
Note that the original wording appears again first below and sustains the same comment & voting regime as all other amendment proposals.
Section 6.4. Section 6.4. A petition signed by four per cent or more registered voters within six months, calling for a popular vote on an issue of concern, will be referred to Parliament. A Public Petitions Committee will decide on petitions submitted by individuals, community groups and organisations. If the issue or concern cannot be resolved by Parliament then it will be put to a referendum to be held within twelve months and in accordance with Article 13.4.
Section 6.4. A threshold of 4% of the Scottish electorate is a much higher threshold than currently applies to public petitions to the UK Parliament which is 100,000. To achieve a similar threshold in Scotland it should be set at 2.5%
Section 6.4. Actually I think it's a bit low, referenda which lost by a narrow margin could end up being continually refought, especially if the government doesn't have a majority as is entirely possible in a parliament elected by PR
Section 6.4. Section 6.4. Switzerland's constitutional basis is the same as Scotland's - Popular Sovereignty. The Swiss threshold for such petitions is 2% (100,000 signatures, the Scottish equivalent, adjusted for population difference, being 80,000). Since 1848 (year of the first Swiss constitution) there have been some 500 such petitions of which 229 were actually voted on and 25 finally accepted (5% success rate). The 271 difference mainly represents Initiatives which were withdrawn because Parliament eventually took action acceptable to the Initiative Committee so adjusted success rate 59%. This is a powerful democratic tool which should not be discouraged by a high threshold.
Section 6.4. Section 6.4. The proposed wording would permit Parliament to resolve the concern or issue to its own satisfaction, but such resolution might not be to the satisfaction of the Initiators of the petition. We're talking about a constitution where the People are sovereign however the proposed wording allows Parliament to effectively over-rule the approximately 150,000 voters (based on 4%) and “water down” the petition. It’s essential that the Initiative Committee agree with Parliament's proposed resolution.
Section 6.4. Section 6.4. Section 6.4. A petition signed by 2.5 per cent or more registered voters within six months, calling for a popular vote on an issue of concern, will be referred to Parliament. A Public Petitions Committee will decide on petitions submitted by individuals, community groups and organisations. If the issue or concern cannot be resolved by Parliament then it will be put to a referendum to be held within twelve months and in accordance with Article 13.4.
Section 6.4. Section 6.4. Section 6.4. A petition signed by two per cent or more registered voters within six months, calling for a popular vote on an issue of concern, will be referred to Parliament. A Public Petitions Committee will decide on petitions submitted by individuals, community groups and organisations. If the issue or concern cannot be resolved by Parliament to the satisfaction of the Initiative Committee then it will be put to a referendum to be held within twelve months.
Section 6.4. Section 6.4. A petition signed by 100,000 (2½% cent of registered voters within 100 days calling for a popular vote on an issue of concern, will be facilitated by the Petitions Committee of the Electoral Commission and referred to Parliament. Failing resolution the satisfaction of the Initiating Committee within a further 60 days then it will be put to a referendum to be held within six months.
Proposed Amendments to Section
Please scrutinise all the proposed amendments and replies before commenting or voting. Short comments are most often read and must not exceed 100 words.
You can propose an Amendment at the bottom of this page - please read the guidelines .
Note that the original wording appears again first below and sustains the same comment & voting regime as all other amendment proposals.
Original Version
Section 6.4. Section 6.4. A petition signed by four per cent or more registered voters within six months, calling for a popular vote on an issue of concern, will be referred to Parliament. A Public Petitions Committee will decide on petitions submitted by individuals, community groups and organisations. If the issue or concern cannot be resolved by Parliament then it will be put to a referendum to be held within twelve months and in accordance with Article 13.4.
Section 6.4. A threshold of 4% of the Scottish electorate is a much higher threshold than currently applies to public petitions to the UK Parliament which is 100,000. To achieve a similar threshold in Scotland it should be set at 2.5%
Section 6.4. Actually I think it's a bit low, referenda which lost by a narrow margin could end up being continually refought, especially if the government doesn't have a majority as is entirely possible in a parliament elected by PR
Section 6.4. Section 6.4. Switzerland's constitutional basis is the same as Scotland's - Popular Sovereignty. The Swiss threshold for such petitions is 2% (100,000 signatures, the Scottish equivalent, adjusted for population difference, being 80,000). Since 1848 (year of the first Swiss constitution) there have been some 500 such petitions of which 229 were actually voted on and 25 finally accepted (5% success rate). The 271 difference mainly represents Initiatives which were withdrawn because Parliament eventually took action acceptable to the Initiative Committee so adjusted success rate 59%. This is a powerful democratic tool which should not be discouraged by a high threshold.
Section 6.4. Section 6.4. The proposed wording would permit Parliament to resolve the concern or issue to its own satisfaction, but such resolution might not be to the satisfaction of the Initiators of the petition. We're talking about a constitution where the People are sovereign however the proposed wording allows Parliament to effectively over-rule the approximately 150,000 voters (based on 4%) and “water down” the petition. It’s essential that the Initiative Committee agree with Parliament's proposed resolution.
Proposed Amendment to Section 6.4.
Public Petitions
Section 6.4. Section 6.4. Section 6.4. A petition signed by 2.5 per cent or more registered voters within six months, calling for a popular vote on an issue of concern, will be referred to Parliament. A Public Petitions Committee will decide on petitions submitted by individuals, community groups and organisations. If the issue or concern cannot be resolved by Parliament then it will be put to a referendum to be held within twelve months and in accordance with Article 13.4.
Proposed Amendment to Section 6.4.
Initiate a Public Petition
Section 6.4. Section 6.4. Section 6.4. A petition signed by two per cent or more registered voters within six months, calling for a popular vote on an issue of concern, will be referred to Parliament. A Public Petitions Committee will decide on petitions submitted by individuals, community groups and organisations. If the issue or concern cannot be resolved by Parliament to the satisfaction of the Initiative Committee then it will be put to a referendum to be held within twelve months.
Proposed Amendment to Section 6.4.
A Standard Procedure for General Petitions
Section 6.4. Section 6.4. A petition signed by 100,000 (2½% cent of registered voters within 100 days calling for a popular vote on an issue of concern, will be facilitated by the Petitions Committee of the Electoral Commission and referred to Parliament. Failing resolution the satisfaction of the Initiating Committee within a further 60 days then it will be put to a referendum to be held within six months.