Some 67.8 percent voted in favor of the stricter rules on asylum, originally approved by the Swiss government in December. The proposal was accepted in all of Switzerland's 26 states.

The government says the law is designed to prevent abuses in the system caused by non-refugees finding ways to stay indefinitely in Switzerland. It facilitates easier repatriation of people whose asylum requests have been rejected, which the government says will allow it to devote more resources to real refugees.

The Japan Times Weekly: Sept. 30, 2006
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