Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

elects on national level a collective

head of state A head of state is the public persona of a sovereign state.#Foakes, Foakes, pp. 110–11 " he head of statebeing an embodiment of the State itself or representative of its international persona." The name given to the office of head of sta ...

, the Federal Council, and a

legislature A legislature (, ) is a deliberative assembly with the legal authority to make laws for a political entity such as a country, nation or city on behalf of the people therein. They are often contrasted with the executive and judicial power ...

, the Federal Assembly.

Background

The Federal Assembly (German: ''Bundesversammlung''; French: ''Assemblée fédérale''; Italian: ''Assemblea federale''; Romansh: ''Assamblea federala'') has two chambers. The National Council (German: ''Nationalrat''; French: ''Conseil national''; Italian: ''Consiglio nazionale''; Romansh: ''Cussegl naziunal'') has 200 members, elected for a four-year term by

proportional representation Proportional representation (PR) refers to any electoral system under which subgroups of an electorate are reflected proportionately in the elected body. The concept applies mainly to political divisions (Political party, political parties) amon ...

in multi-seat constituencies, the cantons. The Council of States (German: ''Ständerat''; French: ''Conseil des Etats''; Italian: ''Consiglio degli Stati''l Romansh: ''Cussegl dals Stadis'') has 46 members, elected for four years in 20 two-seat (for full cantons) and 6 single-seat (for half-cantons) constituencies. Under the Swiss Federal Constitution, the mode of election to the Council of States is left to the cantons, the provision being that it must be a democratic method. All cantons now provide for the councilors to be chosen by popular election, although historically it was typically the cantons' legislatures that elected representatives to Bern. Despite this freedom the Constitution provides the cantons, with the exception of the cantons of and (which use

to elect their councilors), councilors are elected through an up to two-round system of voting. In the first round of voting, candidates must obtain an absolute majority of the vote in order to be elected. If no candidate receives an absolute majority in the first round of voting then a second round is held in which a simple plurality is sufficient to be elected. The top two finishing candidates in the second round are elected. One of the members of the Federal Council assumes the honorific title of President of the Confederation for a one-year term. Elections to the National Council conclude on the penultimate Sunday of October. In most cantons, the first round of the election for the Council of States is held alongside the National Council election, while runoff stages are held 3 to 6 weeks later. The new Federal Assembly takes office at the start of the following year. Switzerland has a multi-party system with numerous parties. A highly unique characteristic of Switzerland is that all executives, from the federal level to even the smallest town at the municipal level, are led by a

collective A collective is a group of entities that share or are motivated by at least one common issue or interest or work together to achieve a common objective. Collectives can differ from cooperatives in that they are not necessarily focused upon an e ...

body of individuals (versus a single President or

Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

as in other countries). These executives often include members from several

political parties A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular area's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific ideological or p ...

Federal elections

2023 federal election

Federal elections were held in Switzerland on 22 October 2023 to elect all members of the National Council and Council of States (first round). There was a second round for the Council of States on 12 and 19 November. The elections were followed by elections to the Federal Council, Switzerland's government and collegial presidency, on 13 December.

National Council

Council of States

31 of the 46 seats of the Council of States were filled in the first round, on 22 October 2023, with the remaining 15 seats filled in the second round, on 12 and 19 November.

Notes and references

External links

* *
Adam Carr's Election Archive

NSD: European Election Database - Switzerland
publishes regional level election data; allows for comparisons of election results, 1991-2007 {{Portal bar, Politics, Switzerland it:Politica della Svizzera