A non-binding referendum on nuclear power was held in Sweden on 23 March 1980. Three proposals were put to voters. The second option, the gradual phasing out of nuclear power, won a narrow plurality of the vote, receiving 39.1% of the ballots cast to 38.7% for option 3. Option 1 was the least popular, receiving only 18.9% of the votes.
The actual long term result of the nuclear power politics in Sweden after the referendum has been most similar to option 1 which did not change ownership of nuclear power plants. Some were fully private and other owned by the government, and this did not change much. High profits in hydroelectric generation were not excessively taxed. Although some of the nuclear power plants were decommissioned, the Swedish government decided to reverse the policy.
Details of the options Option 1 The ballot for Option 1 () read:
There was no text on the reverse side of the ballot.Nohlen & Stöver, p1863 Option 2 The front side of the ballot for Option 2 () had almost identical wording to that of Option 1. However, on the reverse side, the following text was added:
The last point was controversial and the most important reason why the Moderate Party would not consider supporting Option 2. Option 3 The front side of the ballot for Option 3 () read:
The reverse side of the ballot read:
Results ChoiceVotes%Option 1904,96818.9Option 21,869,34439.1Option 31,846,91138.7Blank votes157,1033.3Invalid votes3,153–Total4,781,479100Registered voters/turnout6,321,16575.6Source: Nohlen & Stöver By county CountyOption 1Option 2Option 3 Blank voteTotalVotes%Votes%Votes%Votes%Stockholm County230,04525.41295,83732.68350,94238.7628,5033.15905,327Uppsala County25,21918.052,64237.658,05141.44,2733.0140,185Södermanland County23,94616.5667,19246.4648,11033.275,3673.71144,615Östergötland County42,34318.9395,02242.4977,27834.569,0114.03223,654Jönköping County29,71717.0667,13738.5671,31440.955,9843.44174,152Kronoberg County16,90917.5435,66937.0140,70242.233,0983.2196,378Kalmar County23,46817.3054,50740.1953,56839.504,0723.00135,615Gotland County4,16113.6710,47434.4114,84348.769643.1730,442Blekinge County15,11618.1241,35949.5924,14128.942,7883.3483,404Kristianstad County35,93723.7462,62941.3847,49031.375,3123.51151,368Malmöhus County124,58428.36190,65143.40109,31024.8814,7453.36439,290Halland County24,69518.7045,81334.6956,49842.785,0593.83132,065Gothenburg and Bohus County80,58419.30145,79134.92177,13642.4214,0343.36417,545Älvsborg County39,79716.4591,74837.92101,86942.118,5083.52241,922Skaraborg County24,55716.1352,24834.3270,07946.035,3633.52152,247Värmland County25,22415.0267,23941.6863,92939.634,9243.05161,316Örebro County21,97513.7969,12743.3763,16239.625,1363.22159,400Västmanland County29,37520.0264,66644.0846,92231.985,7383.91146,701Kopparberg County19,24911.9165,72540.6771,11244.005,5313.42161,617Gävleborg County17,14510.3269,91142.0874,08044.595,0003.01166,146Västernorrland County15,83110.0967,92343.2868,66143.754,5192.88156,934Jämtland County7,2509.5831,25941.3035,12046.402,0582.7275,687Västerbotten County13,7349.8156,82740.5865,93847.093,5272.52140,026Norrbotten County14,1079.9167,94847.7556,65639.813,5892.52142,300Total904,96818.941,869,34439.121,846,91138.65157,1033.294,778,326
See also Nuclear power in Sweden
References
External links