Moutier has decided – the last chapter on the question of the law has not yet been written – News

The small town of Moutier in the Jura, with around 7,500 inhabitants, wants to change canton. With a difference of almost 400 votes, the electorate of Moutier said yes to move to the canton of Jura. Separatists fought for this day for generations.

In the last vote of the summer of 2017, Moutier voted by a narrow margin in favor of the canton change. However, the vote was canceled.

A bilingual canton?

The fact that the canton of Bern is losing a municipality is nothing new. The former Bernese district of Laufental, for example, moved to the canton of Baselland in the 1990s. The town of Vellerat with a population of 70 also moved from the canton of Bern to the canton of Jura.

However, the consequences of Moutier’s departure are different. The canton of Bern is bilingual. The official language of the Jura de Berne is French. If this administrative region becomes smaller and smaller, at some point the question arises whether the canton of Bern can and will be able to afford bilingualism.

New discussion on guaranteed seat in the Jura

The result of today’s vote could also have an impact on the electoral political system. With Moutiers’ decision to turn his back on the canton of Bern, the discussion about the guaranteed seat of the Jura could arise again.

The Jura de Berne has one seat in the cantonal government. So far, the Jura headquarters has only been questioned in isolated cases. With Moutier’s departure, the Bern Jura is shrinking, so those who see the Jura’s guaranteed seat as a disproportionate preference for a minority get a boost.

The court will decide

Moutier’s latest decision shouldn’t be set in stone yet. The governor of the administrative district of the Berne Jura started the procedure before the vote. These are statements by Virginie Heyer, president of the Berne Jurassic Council. It cannot be ruled out that further complaints may arise. As in 2017, Moutier’s vote will now be negotiated in court.

Furthermore, the day before the vote, the canton of Bern announced that the control of Moutier’s electoral register had not yet been completed. Recently a large number of newcomers to Moutier have been identified. The suspicion of electoral tourism is in the room. The last chapter has yet to be written, but there are already losers.

Matthias von Wartburg

Regional editor

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Matthias von Wartburg has been working for Radio SRF’s regional magazine Bern Freiburg Wallis since 2019. There he reports from the Biel region, among other things.