Voters in Switzerland have overwhelmingly backed a move to tighten asylum restrictions amid a rise in the number of refugees there.
Almost 80% of voters in a referendum on Sunday approved changes made to the asylum law last September.
Under the new rules military desertion is no longer a reason for granting asylum and people cannot now apply through Swiss foreign embassies in other countries.
About 48,000 people are in the process of seeking asylum in Switzerland.
The BBC reports the proportion of refugees per head of population Switzerland is twice the European average. But the number of asylum seekers is rising sharply and is at its highest in a decade.
Human rights groups and left wing parties gathered enough signatures to force the referendum, in a bid to get the measures withdrawn, warning that they could lead to discrimination.
After the result, they described the outcome as "a disaster for asylum seekers and refugees" that left "no winners".
The Swiss People's Party welcomed the result. Celine Amandruz told AFP that nine out of 10 people who sought refuge in Switzerland did so "for economic reasons".
"There is clearly a need to change this system," she said.
The BBC reports Switzerland counts one asylum seeker for every 332 inhabitants. The European average is one asylum seeker for every 625 inhabitants.
