- A study revealed that 76 percent of Swiss people support the burqa ban
- 20 percent disagreed, and three percent had 'no view' on the issue
- The Swiss government has publicly opposed the idea
- A vote is unlikely to take place before 2019
Three in four people in Switzerland support an initiative to ban all face coverings in public - which would effectively ban the burqa.
A survey of 1,167 people conducted by two Swiss Sunday papers found 76 percent of those spoken to were in favor of the initiative.
This was compared with 20 percent who disagreed and three percent who said they had 'no view' on the issue.
The initiative "Yes to a ban on face coverings" garnered more than the required 100,000 signatures last September to put the decision to a popular vote, reports The Local.
This put the initiative on the ballot under Switzerland's system of direct democracy, which lets voters decide major policy issues.
The measure was proposed by a group including MPs from the nationalist Swiss People's Party that was also behind a ban on building minarets in Switzerland.
The group called for it to be made illegal for anyone to cover their face in public. Some exceptions include local custom, the weather and health and safety reasons.
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Such a law would mean the effective ban of the niqab and burqa, although the committee says it is also targeting hooligans who cover their face for criminal intent.
The Swiss government has publicly opposed the idea, saying it is up to each of the 26 cantons (areas) to legislate on the issue.
The issue has been argued over in Swiss society for many years, with the Senate rejecting a draft bill on the topic in March after the lower house approved it.
It was also rejected by the people of Glarus canton during an open-air assembly this May.
But the canton of Ticino, in the south of the country, overwhelmingly backed a regional ban of the burqa and other full-face coverings in public in 2013.
However, in December, it controversially proposed a counter-project suggesting it be made illegal to force anyone to cover their face.
If the ban goes through, it would put Switzerland alongside France, Austria and other European countries in prohibiting face-covering garments.
The vote is unlikely to take place before 2019.
This article has been adapted from its original source.
