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Direct Democracy
What are the issues, if any, in relation to which referendums are optional at the national level?
Answers # Countries
% Countries
Country List
total countries/territories: 117
a . Constitutional amendments
37 31.6 %
Albania ,
American Samoa ,
Austria ,
Bosnia and Herzegovina ,
Burkina Faso ,
Benin ,
Belarus ,
Canada ,
Central African Republic ,
Côte d'Ivoire ,
Chile ,
Costa Rica ,
Cape Verde ,
Estonia ,
Finland ,
France ,
Equatorial Guinea ,
Croatia ,
Italy ,
Kazakhstan ,
Liechtenstein ,
Macedonia, the Former Yugoslav Republic of ,
Malta ,
Maldives ,
Namibia ,
Niger ,
Pakistan ,
Russian Federation ,
Rwanda ,
Sweden ,
Senegal ,
Togo ,
Timor-Leste ,
Turkey ,
Ukraine ,
Uganda ,
South Africa ,
b . Adoption of international treaties
30 25.6 %
Andorra ,
Angola ,
Austria ,
Bosnia and Herzegovina ,
Burkina Faso ,
Bulgaria ,
Benin ,
Belarus ,
Switzerland ,
Côte d'Ivoire ,
Cape Verde ,
Finland ,
France ,
Croatia ,
Korea, Republic of ,
Liechtenstein ,
Sri Lanka ,
Macedonia, the Former Yugoslav Republic of ,
Mali ,
Mauritania ,
Maldives ,
Namibia ,
Niger ,
Pakistan ,
Poland ,
Rwanda ,
Senegal ,
Timor-Leste ,
Uganda ,
Venezuela ,
c . Transfer of authority to international bodies
24 20.5 %
Andorra ,
Angola ,
Bosnia and Herzegovina ,
Burkina Faso ,
Bulgaria ,
Belarus ,
Switzerland ,
Côte d'Ivoire ,
Cape Verde ,
Finland ,
France ,
Korea, Republic of ,
Liechtenstein ,
Sri Lanka ,
Mauritania ,
Maldives ,
Namibia ,
Niger ,
Pakistan ,
Poland ,
Paraguay ,
Rwanda ,
Timor-Leste ,
Uganda ,
d . National sovereignty, national self-determination
21 17.9 %
Andorra ,
Bosnia and Herzegovina ,
Burkina Faso ,
Belarus ,
Côte d'Ivoire ,
Finland ,
France ,
Korea, Republic of ,
Liechtenstein ,
Sri Lanka ,
Macedonia, the Former Yugoslav Republic of ,
Mauritania ,
Maldives ,
Namibia ,
Niger ,
Pakistan ,
Paraguay ,
Rwanda ,
Senegal ,
Timor-Leste ,
Uganda ,
e . Conflict between constitutional organs
19 16.2 %
Andorra ,
Austria ,
Bosnia and Herzegovina ,
Burkina Faso ,
Côte d'Ivoire ,
Finland ,
Korea, Republic of ,
Liechtenstein ,
Sri Lanka ,
Mauritania ,
Maldives ,
Namibia ,
Niger ,
Pakistan ,
Paraguay ,
Rwanda ,
Senegal ,
Timor-Leste ,
Uganda ,
f . Devolution
22 18.8 %
Andorra ,
Austria ,
Bosnia and Herzegovina ,
Burkina Faso ,
Belarus ,
Côte d'Ivoire ,
Finland ,
Korea, Republic of ,
Kazakhstan ,
Liechtenstein ,
Sri Lanka ,
Macedonia, the Former Yugoslav Republic of ,
Mali ,
Maldives ,
Namibia ,
Niger ,
Pakistan ,
Paraguay ,
Rwanda ,
Senegal ,
Timor-Leste ,
Uganda ,
g . Civil service
19 16.2 %
Andorra ,
Austria ,
Bosnia and Herzegovina ,
Burkina Faso ,
Belarus ,
Côte d'Ivoire ,
Cape Verde ,
Finland ,
Korea, Republic of ,
Liechtenstein ,
Sri Lanka ,
Macedonia, the Former Yugoslav Republic of ,
Mauritania ,
Maldives ,
Namibia ,
Pakistan ,
Rwanda ,
Timor-Leste ,
Uganda ,
h . Taxes and public expenditure commitments
19 16.2 %
Andorra ,
Austria ,
Bosnia and Herzegovina ,
Burkina Faso ,
Côte d'Ivoire ,
Finland ,
Croatia ,
Korea, Republic of ,
Liechtenstein ,
Sri Lanka ,
Mali ,
Mauritania ,
Maldives ,
Namibia ,
Pakistan ,
Paraguay ,
Rwanda ,
Timor-Leste ,
Uganda ,
i . Other public policy issues
32 27.3 %
Andorra ,
Albania ,
Austria ,
Bosnia and Herzegovina ,
Burkina Faso ,
Benin ,
Belarus ,
Côte d'Ivoire ,
Cape Verde ,
Denmark ,
Finland ,
France ,
Equatorial Guinea ,
Ireland ,
Kazakhstan ,
Liechtenstein ,
Sri Lanka ,
Liberia ,
Montenegro ,
Macedonia, the Former Yugoslav Republic of ,
Mali ,
Mauritania ,
Malta ,
Maldives ,
Namibia ,
Pakistan ,
Paraguay ,
Rwanda ,
Sweden ,
Timor-Leste ,
Ukraine ,
Uganda ,
j . Other (specify)
41 35.0 %
Angola ,
Azerbaijan ,
Bulgaria ,
Belarus ,
Congo (Brazzaville) ,
Switzerland ,
Colombia ,
Costa Rica ,
Cuba ,
Cape Verde ,
Czech Republic ,
Estonia ,
Finland ,
Gambia ,
Greece ,
Iran, Islamic Republic of ,
Italy ,
Korea, Republic of ,
Kazakhstan ,
Sri Lanka ,
Lithuania ,
Latvia ,
Moldova, Republic of ,
Montenegro ,
Madagascar ,
Macedonia, the Former Yugoslav Republic of ,
Mauritania ,
Maldives ,
Namibia ,
Norway ,
Pakistan ,
Portugal ,
Romania ,
Russian Federation ,
Seychelles ,
Sweden ,
Slovakia ,
Timor-Leste ,
Venezuela ,
Viet Nam ,
k . None
18 15.3 %
Antigua and Barbuda ,
Bahrain ,
Botswana ,
Algeria ,
Ecuador ,
Eritrea ,
Ethiopia ,
Iraq ,
Jordan ,
Japan ,
Mozambique ,
Netherlands ,
Panama ,
Peru ,
Sierra Leone ,
Somalia ,
Swaziland ,
Zambia ,
l . Not applicable
28 23.9 %
Afghanistan ,
Anguilla ,
Argentina ,
Bangladesh ,
Belgium ,
Bahamas ,
Cook Islands ,
Cyprus ,
Germany ,
Ghana ,
Israel ,
Kenya ,
Cambodia ,
Kiribati ,
Comoros ,
Saint Kitts and Nevis ,
Mauritius ,
Malawi ,
Malaysia ,
Nigeria ,
Puerto Rico ,
Palau ,
Solomon Islands ,
Singapore ,
El Salvador ,
Tonga ,
Uruguay ,
Vanuatu ,
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