referendum
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referendum
A popular vote in which the voting population directly decides on a specific political issue or law.
In einem Referendum stimmte die Mehrheit der Bürger für den Bau der neuen Brücke.
In a referendum, the majority of citizens voted in favor of building the new bridge.
'Referendum' is a loanword from Latin. The ending '-um' is a typical feature of neuter nouns of Latin origin, as also in 'Museum' (museum) or 'Zentrum' (center).
Das Ergebnis des Referendums ist für die Regierung bindend.
The result of the referendum is binding for the government.
In a political context, 'Referendum' (referendum) is often combined with certain verbs. You can 'abhalten' (hold), 'durchführen' (carry out), 'fordern' (demand), or 'initiieren' (initiate) a referendum.
Die Opposition fordert ein Referendum zur neuen Steuerreform.
The opposition is demanding a referendum on the new tax reform.
To name the topic of the popular vote, the preposition 'über' (about/on) followed by the accusative is used.
Es gab ein Referendum über den Austritt aus der Union.
There was a referendum on leaving the union.
referendum
A Referendum and a Volksentscheid are direct votes by the population on a political issue or law. Referendum is the broader term and is also used internationally, while Volksentscheid is the German term for this kind of procedure and usually emphasizes a legally binding result. Volksentscheid is therefore often the better choice in German political texts.
Ein internationaler Bericht bezeichnet die direkte Abstimmung über das Gesetz als Referendum.
An international report refers to the direct vote on the law as a referendum.
Die deutsche Zeitung nennt die bindende Abstimmung über das Gesetz einen Volksentscheid.
The German newspaper calls the binding vote on the law a referendum.
