Scotland referendum: Other instances where countries and people have voted to indicate what they want

Scotland said “No” and decided to stay with the United Kingdom a couple of days ago. The referendum was closely watched by people and politicians across the world. However, this isn’t the first time that people have chosen to determine their destiny using direct democracy. Here’s a look at times countries and people have voted to indicate what they want:

The Oz national song

Imagine a bunch of Aussies singing their national song. Imagine them singing “God save the Queen”. Doesn’t fit, no? But that’s what the rambunctious folks Down Under did till 1974, when they conducted a survey to determine what would be their national song. “Advance Australia Fair” topped the list. But, it was not until 1977 that “Advance Australia Fair” was chosen in a plebiscite as the official anthem beating other popular numbers like “Waltzing Matilda”, “Song of Australia” and “God save the Queen”.

A referendum against minarets

The Swiss voted in November 2009 to decide on this topic of crushing importance: should Swiss cities ban minarets or not? The government urged the public to vote against the ban but the people voted for the ban. Believe it or not, minarets are banned in Switzerland!

Rigging of book prices

Another golden one from the land of referendums. A 2012 referendum sought to fix book prices, so that everybody could read them. Nobody thought of the publishers. Fortunately, good sense prevailed and most people voted against it.

Holidays for all

This 2012 referendum makes you wish you held a Swiss passport. The Swiss trade union, Travail Suisse, wanted every Swiss employee to get six weeks of mandatory vacations each year instead of four. Businesses argued against it saying it would lead to higher wage costs. The proposal was defeated.


What’s in a town’s name?

Aracataca is a small town in Colombia. It’s best known for being Nobel laureate Gabriel Garcia Marquez’s birthplace. It’s the town from which he drew inspiration for his fictional town of Macondo in his One Thousand Years of Solitude. In June 2006, a referendum was held to rename it Aracataca-Macondo. It failed due to low turnout.