A brief history of referendums: Does it always reflect the people’s will?
Referendum is both the voice of the people and, at times, the tool of the powerful
A referendum is a double-edged sword. Its job is to cut — but where and how it cuts is decided by those in power.
Throughout history, this democratic blade has carved paths to liberation, shaped constitutions, redrawn borders, and at times, been wielded to tighten the grip of autocrats too. From medieval Switzerland to Brexit in Britain, referendums have shown humanity's enduring struggle between power and participation.
Roots of direct democracy
The modern story of the referendum begins in Switzerland. As early as the 13th century, citizens of the Old Swiss Confederacy gathered in open-air assemblies, known as Landsgemeinde, to decide communal issues by a show of hands. These early votes were the seeds of direct democracy, and by 1847, Switzerland had formally enshrined the statute referendum in its federal constitution.
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Today, Switzerland remains the global champion of this practice. Since its establishment as a modern state in 1848, the country has held nearly 600 national votes. Any issue that gathers 100,000 signatures within 18 months qualifies for a nationwide ballot — resulting in nine referendums in 2016 alone and over 180 in the past two decades.
Tool for the powerful
Former British Prime Minister Clement Attlee once called the referendum an "alien" device because it "has only too often been the instrument of Nazism and fascism." His warning was grounded in bitter experience.
In 1934, Adolf Hitler used a referendum to merge the offices of Chancellor and President, granting himself, as The New York Times noted, "Dictatorial powers unequalled in any other country, and probably unequalled in history since the days of Genghis Khan."
But Hitler was not alone; the 19th century saw a series of 'plebiscites' (the term often used before 'referendum' became standard), orchestrated by strongmen seeking popular legitimacy. Between 1800 and 1852, Napoleon Bonaparte and later Louis-Napoléon held national votes in France to approve imperial status and special powers.
The results were overwhelmingly "yes", reinforcing a pattern of what political historians call "Caesarism" – the use of direct votes to cloak authoritarian ambitions in the garb of democracy.
Even earlier, in 1793, revolutionary France had experimented with a referendum to ratify the Constitution of Year I, a bold document grounded in ideals of equality and fraternity. It passed overwhelmingly, though it was never implemented due to wartime chaos.
That vote marked one of the first national referendums in modern history, signalling both the promise and peril of asking "the people" to decide.
By the mid-19th century, referendums had evolved from imperial showpieces to instruments of state-building. In 1860, votes in parts of Italy and France determined the unification of the Italian states and the annexation of Nice and Savoy to France. These were referendums of unification, expressions of collective will that sought to legitimise the new order of nations emerging from Europe's revolutions.
In 1934, Adolf Hitler used a referendum to merge the offices of Chancellor and President, granting himself, as The New York Times noted, "Dictatorial powers unequalled in any other country, and probably unequalled in history since the days of Genghis Khan."
The 20th century expanded that pattern beyond Europe. In 1947, as the British Raj dissolved, regions like Sylhet and the North-West Frontier Province held referendums to decide whether to join India or Pakistan.
Sylhet voted for East Bengal, sealing its fate as part of what would become Bangladesh. In 1975, Sikkim held a referendum to abolish its monarchy and integrate into India, with 97.55% voting "yes."
In 1958, newly independent nations such as Gabon, Senegal, Ivory Coast, Madagascar, Congo, Chad, and Niger voted to secede from France's fading empire. Later, as the Soviet Union unravelled, referendums once again became passports to independence.
Latvia, Lithuania, Georgia, and Ukraine each voted for sovereignty, proving that even in the shadow of the empire, ballots could achieve what bullets could not.
In 1999, East Timor's referendum for independence from Indonesia, approved by 78.5%, ended decades of occupation and led to the birth of Timor-Leste. A few years later, Montenegro did the same, peacefully breaking from Serbia in 2006. And in 2011, South Sudan's people voted overwhelmingly to secede, carving out the world's newest nation, though not a peaceful one.
When the people say "No"
Referendums do not always end with unity or triumph. Some reveal a nation's fractures more than its consensus. In 1995, Quebec voted narrowly, 50.58% to 49.42%, to remain part of Canada, a razor-thin rejection of independence.
In 2016, Colombians stunned the world by rejecting a peace agreement between the government and FARC rebels, 50.2% voted "no," blocking a deal that could have formally ended half a century of conflict.
The same year, on another continent, the United Kingdom chose to leave the European Union. The 'Brexit' referendum, passed by 51.89% to leave, was a watershed moment, an outbreak of populism that divided generations, families, and nations.
It was Britain's eleventh national referendum since 1973, and the second on its European relationship. The first, in 1975, had produced the opposite result, an overwhelming "yes" to remain in the European Economic Community.
In the aftermath of Brexit, Scotland's First Minister, Nicola Sturgeon, remarked that "It is highly likely there will be another referendum" on Scottish independence, after most Scots voted to stay in the EU. It was a telling irony, the failure of one referendum perhaps to be corrected by another.
Mechanics of the vote
Despite their varied outcomes, referendums can be grouped by their legal and political nature.
Mandatory referendums are required by law or constitution, often for major constitutional changes. Ireland and Switzerland, for example, mandate public votes for such decisions. In contrast, optional referendums depend on political will or specific triggers, such as the UK's 1975 and 2016 votes on Europe.
Then there is the question of initiative. Government-initiated referendums, or "top-down" plebiscites, have historically been the tool of rulers seeking approval, sometimes as a democratic disguise. Citizen-initiated referendums, or "bottom-up" votes, reflect grassroots democracy, allowing people to propose or reject laws through signature campaigns.
The Swiss model exemplifies this balance: citizens can launch a popular initiative to propose new laws, or a popular veto to reject legislation passed by parliament. These mechanisms have ensured Switzerland's reputation as a laboratory of democracy, though not without fatigue from its frequent ballots.
In the United States, there is no national referendum mechanism, a deliberate choice by the Founding Fathers who feared it would undermine federalism. Yet, at the state level, direct democracy thrives. 24 states hold referendums, either legislative when lawmakers refer measures to the public or popular when citizens petition for one through signatures.
The first known American referendum occurred in Massachusetts in 1788, and southern states later used the method to justify secession before the Civil War. In modern times, California has become the epicentre of ballot-box democracy and controversy.
In 2008, voters there passed Proposition 8, repealing same-sex marriage rights, a decision later overturned by the US Supreme Court. It was a reminder that people's will is not necessarily synonymous with justice.
By 2015, almost 2000 national referendums had been held worldwide, with their frequency accelerating after the 1970s. Counting local and regional votes, the total easily surpasses several thousand.
The sheer variety of these ballots from constitutions to independence, from peace deals to moral questions, shows how the referendum remains one of the most flexible yet volatile tools in political life.
In 2023, Australia's referendum on recognising Indigenous Australians and creating a "Voice to Parliament" was rejected by 60.1% of voters, exposing deep divisions over national identity and reconciliation. It served as another reminder that while referendums promise democracy in its purest form, they also reveal society's hardest truths.
The history of the referendum is not one of steady progress, but of turns, moments of empowerment and manipulation, liberation and control. It is both the voice of the people and, at times, a tool of the powerful.
