Switzerland - October 2023
Parliament shifts to the right following federal elections
On 22 October, Switzerland held federal elections to elect all members of the National Council (the lower parliamentary house with a total of 200 seats) and the Council of States (the smaller, upper house with 46 seats). The right-wing Swiss People’s Party (SVP) won the greatest vote share in the lower house (27.9 per cent translating to 62 seats). This was followed by the Social Democratic party (SP) with 18.3 per cent of the vote and 41 seats. The Centre Party (Mitte) secured 29 seats with 14.1 per cent of the vote, and the Radical Liberal party (FDP) won 28 seats with 14.3 per cent. Women will make up 38.5 per cent (77) of the deputies in the National Council and 28.3 per cent (13) of Council of States representatives. Estimates show around 34 per cent of candidates for elections to the upper house are women. Voter turnout was 46.6 per cent of eligible voters.
Sources: ch.ch, SwissInfo (1), SwissInfo (2), OSCE, Federal Statistics Office, International IDEA
