Swiss federal election, 1908

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This article is part of a series on the
politics and government of
Switzerland
The 49 electoral districts

Federal elections were held in Switzerland on 29 October 1908. The Free Democratic Party retained its majority in the National Council.[1]

Electoral system[edit]

The 167 members of the National Council were elected in 49 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[edit]

Voter turnout was highest in Aargau at 83.1% (higher than the 80% in Schaffhausen, where voting was compulsory) and lowest in Zug at 16.1%.

Party Votes % Seats +/–
Free Democratic Party 202,732 50.9 105 +1
Catholic People's Party 81,733 20.5 34 –1
Social Democratic Party 70,003 17.6 7 +5
Liberal Centre 23,597 5.9 16 –3
Democratic Group 14,414 3.6 5 –1
Others 5,745 1.4 0 0
Invalid/blank votes 28,528
Total 426,752 100 167 0
Registered voters/turnout 809,508 52.7
Source: Mackie & Rose,[3] BFS (seats)

References[edit]

  1. ^ Elections to the National Council 1848–1917: Distribution of seats by party or political orientation BFS
  2. ^ a b Dieter Nohlen & Philip Stöver (2010) Elections in Europe: A data handbook, p1886 ISBN 9783832956097
  3. ^ Thomas T Mackie & Richard Rose (1991) The International Almanac of Electoral History, Macmillan