1896 Swiss federal election
| This article is part of a series on the |
.svg) |
|---|
 Switzerland portal |
Federal elections were held in Switzerland on 25 October 1896. The Free Democratic Party retained its majority in the National Council.[1]
Electoral system
The 147 members of the National Council were elected in 52 single- and multi-member constituencies using a three-round system. Candidates had to receive a majority in the first or second round to be elected; if it went to a third round, only a plurality was required. Voters could cast as many votes as there were seats in their constituency.[2] There was one seat for every 20,000 citizens, with seats allocated to cantons in proportion to their population.[2]
Results
Voter turnout was highest in Nidwalden at 90.3% (higher than the 89.3% in Schaffhausen where voting was compulsory) and lowest in Obwalden at 21.4%.
| Party | Votes | % | Seats | +/– |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free Democratic Party | 181,028 | 48.7 | 86 | +12 |
| Catholic People's Party | 85,484 | 23.0 | 30 | +1 |
| Liberal Centre | 54,012 | 14.5 | 21 | –6 |
| Social Democratic Party | 25,304 | 6.8 | 2 | +1 |
| Democratic Group | 19,946 | 5.4 | 8 | –8 |
| Others | 5,750 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| Invalid/blank votes | 26,701 | – | – | – |
| Total | 398,625 | 100 | 147 | 0 |
| Registered voters/turnout | 713,367 | 55.9 | – | – |
| Source: Mackie & Rose,[3] BFS (seats) | ||||
References
- ^ Elections to the National Council 1848–1917: Distribution of seats by party or political orientation BFS
- ^ a b Dieter Nohlen & Philip Stöver (2010) Elections in Europe: A data handbook, p1886 ISBN 9783832956097
- ^ Thomas T Mackie & Richard Rose (1991) The International Almanac of Electoral History, Macmillan
