may be put to a referendum at the request of one-third of its members. Certain Bills are exempt, eg on finance or taxation or Bills introduced for the purpose of discharging existing Treaty obligations. Under Article 20 of the Constitution, legis- lation involving surrender to an international body of powers vested in the authori- ties of the Realm is submitted to a referendum, unless supported by five-sixths of the Members of the Folketing. Constitutional amendments are subject to Referendum under Article 88. Seven referenda have been held since 1953.
For the EEC Referendum, held under Article 20 on 2 October 1972, the Government and the Folketing undertook an intensive educational campaign. The Government issued twelve booklets on Community institutions and policies to- gether with a compendium of 136 questions raised by the public and answered by a panel of Government experts. The Folketing issued a 16-page broadsheet which was distributed to every household containing articles for and against Danish membership and official statements by the nine major political parties. Government funds, managed by the Ministry of Education according to a strictly defined formula, were made available to parties and organisations involved in the information campaign; the total amount of public money spent being approxi- mately £1.4m for a population of 5 million.
In 1972 the Danish electorate was asked to approve the draft law enabling Denmark to become a member of the European Communities by answering either Yes or No, as required by the Electoral Law. Facilities exist for postal and absentee voting.
A Draft Law put to referendum is deemed to have been rejected if a majority of those voting vote against it and if the Noes comprise at least 30 per cent. of those entitled to vote. As in elections, referenda results are declared for each individual polling station, of which there are several in each constituency. The total poll in the EEC Referendum was 90 per cent.: 63.3 per cent. of the votes were in favour, 36.7 per cent. were against.
France
Under Article 3 of the Constitution, national sovereignty belongs to the people, who exercise it through their elected representatives or by referendum. Under Article 11, the President, on the proposal of the Government when Parlia- ment is in session, or of the two Assemblies jointly, may submit to referendum any Government bill dealing with specified subjects. These include ratification of a Treaty which, although not in conflict with the Constitution, would affect the workings of public institutions. A special provision exists under Article 89 on amendments to the Constitution, where the initiative belongs jointly to the President on the proposal of the Prime Minister and to Members of Parliament: the proposal must be voted by both Houses in identical terms after which the President may choose to submit it to a referendum which is binding. On two occasions, however, constitutional amendments have been taken under Article 11 rather than Article 89.
Normal voting procedures apply to referenda, and all political parties enjoy the same propaganda facilities (television, radio, etc.) as in elections. Before the 1972 referendum on enlargement of the European Communities, each voter was sent, together with his ballot papers, an explanatory text containing a declara- tion by the President, the question to be set in the referendum, the decree submitting the Bill authorising the ratification of the Treaty of Accession to a referendum, the text of the Bill itself, the text of the Treaty of Accession, and a résumé of its annexes (complete texts of which were available in town halls).
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