Early results on the “Swiss Brexit” show the defeat of the measure that could hold the number of people in 10 million

Voters in Switzerland cast their final vote on Sunday in a plan promoted by a far-right party to bring the wealthy Alpine country’s population to 10 million. Early results showed Swiss voters leaning towards it.

The Swiss People’s Party, which has the majority of seats in parliament, has fueled and promoted tensions over immigration over the years, particularly with the influx of workers from the neighboring European Union.

Some have called the proposal a “Swiss Brexit” because it could jeopardize Switzerland’s deep ties with the European Union, which have been strengthened by agreements that promote economic growth, cultural ties and border mobility, among other things. Switzerland is not one of the 27 EU member states, but it is surrounded by four of them.

A recent poll from the gfs.bern agency suggested it could be a close contest.

The first results shared by the federal government showed that about 53% of voters rejected the proposal, while the national vote was more than 57%. Results were pending from most of Switzerland’s 26 cantons.

The number of people living in Switzerland has increased by about a quarter in the past generation, and foreigners today make up about a third of the population.

Critics say increased immigration has brought in foreign workers and skills in fields such as health, finance, medicine and technology.

The right-wing party put forward a “sustainability” measure, saying Switzerland’s infrastructure, housing, social systems, natural resources and lifestyle have been hampered by population growth.

The federal government, Parliament and EconomieSuisse, the main business association, oppose the idea.

In Geneva, Switzerland’s second-largest city and home to UN agencies and humanitarian groups, early results showed nearly two-thirds of voters in the region opposed the move.

Geneva will host the G7 economic summit this week, welcoming US President Trump among other world leaders.

Maria Lalu, a former diplomatic mission worker from the Philippines who came to Switzerland in the early 1980s, said she supports the proposal. “I don’t care about the arrival of immigrants. I am also a stranger,” he said after voting, adding that he wants immigrants to be organized.

Teacher Natascha Robert said she voted against the request, expressing concern that approval could damage Switzerland’s relationship with the EU. He also said that Switzerland’s growing diversity is helpful.

“I think people always have something to bring to us,” he said outside a polling station in the central region of Paquis, stressing that he was born in Switzerland to two Swiss parents. “Does that mean we have a lot of immigrants, I feel inferior to Switzerland? Really, I don’t.”

Switzerland’s democracy gives voters a direct say in policy-making through referendums that are usually held four times a year. Most ballots are cast by mail, and in-person voting is limited to noon local time on Sunday.

A “yes” vote would require the Swiss government to take action to unify the population by 2050.

If the population reaches 9.5 million before then, the government will be forced to limit asylum, family reunification and residence permits, and may have to scrap Switzerland’s EU agreement on free movement of people.

The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development reported that Switzerland had a foreign-born population of 32% as of 2024, behind only Luxembourg and Australia among the group’s 38 member states.

Migration from other countries it has long been a sensitive issue in Europe, as nations struggle with aging populations and growing anti-foreign sentiment. While that sentiment in other European countries is concentrated among immigrants from developing countries, the majority of expats in Switzerland are European.

Since Switzerland and the EU eased restrictions on citizens living and working across their borders in 2002, the Swiss population has grown by 23%, reaching 9.1 million at the end of last year. Economic output has also increased, up 24 percent over the same period, government data show.

Swiss voters have repeatedly grappled with the issue of immigration over the past half century. Only one such referendum – “Against mass immigration” in 2014 – narrowly passed, after campaigners raised fears of overcrowding and the growing number of Muslims in the country.

Although many countries have restrictions on immigration, none has ever voted to reduce their population, Swiss experts say.