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The initiative committee collected 220 valid signatures, while 163 were enough. A vote will take place in the fall.
The commune of Gruyères could have a General Council. © Alain Wicht – archives
Published on 05/09/2024
Estimated reading time: 1 minute
The initiative committee had to gather 163 initials until May 2 so that the population of Gruyères could vote on the introduction of a General Council. It’s done. “We submitted 223 signatures at the end of April,” says Olivier Mayoraz, member of the committee. After verification, 220 signatures are valid, informs Daniel Weber, secretary general of the municipality. The harvest carried out by the seven members of the committee, “helped by a few people”, went well according to Olivier Mayoraz: “Among the people approached, few people refused to sign.”
220
The number of valid signatures
The resident of Pringy offers an explanation: “I believe that citizens realize that the files are more and more complex when they go to the assemblies.” However, this former municipal elected official remains nuanced: “Afterwards, I do not want to hide that some would be disappointed to no longer participate in the assemblies.”
Signatures for the creation of a General Council in Gruyères
This year in principle
The date of the election has not yet been set. “The idea of the Municipal Council would be to piggyback on a federal vote,” reports Daniel Weber. The vote will probably take place on September 22 or November 24. “We would like to organize an information session where we would invite representatives from different General Councils,” adds Olivier Mayoraz. He specifies that the idea must be discussed with the Municipal Council.
The ball is now in the court of the executive who will soon discuss it. “We have taken note of the submission of the initiative. We have not yet expressed ourselves on the issue,” comments vice-union member Catherine Bussard.
Popular refusal in 2005
If the commune of Gruyères is politicized, this is not the case of the initiative committee which brings together people with various sensitivities, with or without partisan label.
This will not be the first time that the citizens of Gruyères have spoken out on the issue. Already in 2005, an initiative committee had collected 170 signatures out of 107 needed. The initiative, however, failed at the polls, rejected by 51.3% of the vote.
