Volksabstimmung#

Volksabstimmung (Plebiscite): Laws are subject to a plebiscite by persons eligible to vote if the Nationalrat, i.e. the majority of its members so decides. In the case of laws amending parts of the Constitution a plebiscite has to be held if one third of the members of the National Council (Nationalrat) or of the Federal Council (Bundesrat) so demand, while a plebiscite is obligatory in respect of laws amending the Constitution in toto. Since the creation of the Second Republic, plebiscites have been held in the years 1978, 1993 and 1994: On 5 November, 1978, starting operation of the nuclear reactor at Zwentendorf was rejected by 50,5% of the population (turnout 64,1%). On 16 March, 1993, a plebiscite was launched in Salzburg on the initiative of a non-partisan citizens´ initiative on whether each adaptation of provincial law to EEA law required a separate plebiscite; the turnout was at 7%, 92% of voters approved. On 12 June, 1994, the entry of Austria into the European Union was approved by 66,6% of Austrians, turnout 82,4%.