On Friday 29 July 2022, Luxembourg's Prime Minister and Minister of State, Xavier Bettel, decided that the request for the organisation of a referendum on the proposal for the revision of Chapters IV and Vbis of the Constitution, presented by an initiative committee and received on 27 July 2022, is admissible as it meets the requirements set by the amended law of 4 February 2005 relating to a national referendum.
As a reminder, the next steps are as follows:
Publication of a communication in the Official Journal of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg: A communication will be published within eight days in the Official Journal and in at least three daily newspapers. This communication contains the title and the text of the constitutional revision, the contact details of the members of the initiative committee as well as the start and end dates of the period for collecting signatures.
Information by municipalities: Subsequently, municipalities must inform voters of the request for the organisation of a referendum and indicate the places where the voters can, during the planned collection period, support the request by registering on the lists. The municipalities must also indicate the times and days during which registrations can be received. The opening hours are to be set at a minimum of six hours per week and the opening days must include Saturdays.
Collection of signatures: The collection of signatures begins no later than fifteen days after the date of publication of the Prime Minister's communication in the Official Journal. To support the request for the organisation of a referendum, the voter, provided with a valid identity document, must go in person to his municipality of residence and register there on the lists. A municipal agent checks his/her identity and checks that (s)he is indeed registered on the list of voters. Signature on behalf of a third party is prohibited.
Publication of results: At the end of the period for collecting signatures, each municipality sends the result obtained to the Prime Minister who checks them and determines the total number of signatures. No later than three weeks after the end of the period for collecting signatures, the results are communicated to the initiative committee and published in the Official Journal. The result published in the Official Journal may be contested within five days of the date of its publication by any voter before the Administrative Court.
25,000 signatures for the organisation of a referendum: The request for the organisation of a referendum has succeeded if the total number of valid signatures, collected in the two months following the first vote on the text of constitutional revision in the Chamber (Art. 114 of the Constitution), exceeds 25,000.
The referendum: In this case, the referendum must be organised within six months. In the event of legislative or European elections within this period, this period is extended by six months. The day of the referendum must be a Sunday or a legal holiday. Under no circumstances may it be held during the three months preceding or following legislative or European elections.
