- Today elections to the Council of States are taking place in 24 cantons. So far, 16 of the 46 seats have been allocated (Greens 1 | Center 6 | FDP 8 | SVP 1).
- In the canton of Nidwalden, Council of States Hans Wicki (FDP) was confirmed in office in the first round of voting, as expected. The same is true in the canton of Appenzell Ausserrhoden. The previous Andrea Caroni (FDP) was confirmed there.
- In the canton of Basel-Stadt, Eva Herzog (SP) is ahead, as expected, after counting the postal votes.
- According to cantonal projections, the previous Daniel Jositsch (SP) should be confirmed in the canton of Zurich.
Both Aargau Council of States elections the previous Councilor of States Thierry Burkart (FDP) was clearly re-elected at the first attempt. There will be a second round of voting for the vacant SVP seat in the Council of States. Benjamin Giezendanner (SVP) and Gabriela Suter (SP) lead the field. Marianne Binder-Keller (center) is in fourth place.
Andrea Caroni (FDP) remains a member of the state council Appenzell Ausserrhoden. Andrea Caroni was first a National Councilor for Appenzell Ausserrhoden from 2011 before moving to the Council of States in 2015. In this election year, the lawyer was supported by the SVP, the GLP and the Center Party, among others.
Eva Herzog (SP) will Canton of Basel-Stadt will also be represented in the Stöckli for the next four years. After counting the postal votes, the Councilor of States, who has been in office for four years, is, as expected, clearly ahead of the two bourgeois challengers and above the absolute majority.
In Baselland After counting 61 of the 86 municipalities, the incumbent State Councilor Maya Graf (Greens) is ahead. She has a clear lead over the bourgeois challenger Sven Inäbnit (FDP). The 61-year-old organic farmer Graf from Sissach has so far received 22,254 votes. She has been a Councilor of States since 2019 and previously sat in the National Council from 2001 to 2019, which she also chaired in 2009. The 59-year-old pharmacist Sven Inäbnit, who lives in Binningen, has so far received 17,749 votes. Graf’s lead is unlikely to be caught up, even after the municipalities with the most voters have been counted.
In the Canton of Friborg The first results for the Council of States see the previous centrist politician Isabelle Chassot at the top, ahead of the SVP man Pierre-André Page and the other previous incumbent, Johanna Gapany (FDP). 69 of a total of 126 communities have been counted so far.
In Geneva MCG politician Mauro Poggia is at the top. This emerges from preliminary results based on postal voting. The ex-State Councilor will be followed by the two previous incumbents, Carlo Sommaruga (SP) and Lisa Mazzone (Greens).
In the Canton of Glarus the incumbent Glarus mayor Benjamin Mühlemann made it to the Council of States. He clearly achieved the best result (8704) of the three candidates. Green Mathias Zopfi was reconfirmed with 7,286 votes. Please man Peter Rothlin (5,485 votes) didn’t make it.
Legend:
Both Benjamin Mühlemann (FDP) and the previous Mathias Zopfi (Greens) denied SVP man Peter Rothlin access to the small chamber.
Keystone / Gian Ehrenzeller
Tea Graubünden Council of States Stefan Engler (center) and Martin Schmid (FDP) have been re-elected. Both achieved an absolute majority of 22,000 votes in the first round of voting and were therefore re-elected. Engler received 38,316 votes, Schmid received 33,611 votes.
Tea Nidwalden Council of States As expected, Hans Wicki was confirmed in office in the first round of voting. The only Nidwalden Council of States seat remains with the FDP. Wicki was the only candidate from an established party to receive 10,817 votes. Wicki is 59 years old and was elected to the Council of States for the first time in 2015. He works in the tourism industry.
Tea Lucerne Council of States delegation stays unchanged. The voters elected the previous Andrea Gmür (middle / 69,578 votes) and Damian Müller (FDP / 72,978 votes) for another legislature. Both achieved the absolute more of 68,616 straight away.
The non-party one Schaffhausen Council of States Thomas Minder missed his re-election in the first round. The entrepreneur, who became known as the “father of the rip-off initiative”, came in third place behind the SP candidate Simon Stocker. However, Stocker missed the absolute majority and received 13,456 votes, while Minor only received 12,045 votes. The absolute majority was 13,939 votes.
Both Solothurn State Council elections According to the interim results, the previous Pirmin Bishop (center) received the most votes. Christian Imark (SVP) follows. 73 of 107 communities were counted.
In the Canton of St. Gallen After counting 66 of the 75 municipalities in the canton, everything remains the same. The two previous state councilors Benedikt Würth (center) and Esther Friedli (SVP) are well ahead of their competitors. Esther Friedli is at the top with 65,787 votes. Benedikt Würth follows with 61,614 votes.
In the Canton of Thurgau After counting 24 of the 80 municipalities, the two previous state councilors Brigitte Häberli (center) and Jakob Stark (SVP) already have a big lead over their competitors. The two previous candidates are almost equal in the lead. Kristiane Vietze (FDP) is a long way behind in third place, followed by Stefan Leuthold (GLP).
In the Canton of Vaud Two candidates are currently in a neck-and-neck race. 24 percent of the votes in the canton of Vaud have been counted and the socialist Pierre-Yves Maillard is 200 votes ahead of the FDP politician Pascal Broulis. They distance themselves from their competitors SVP Michael Buffat and the Green Party Raphaël Mahaim.
The Upper Valais centrist politician Beat Rieder is likely to be re-elected to the Council of States in the first round. He is ranked 107 out of 122 after counting Valais communities a good 5,000 votes above the absolute majority of around 34,968 votes. According to the preliminary results, the current Councilor of States Marianne Maret, also from the center, would have to go into the runoff election on November 12th.
Tea Uri voters re-elected the Council of States members Josef Dittli (FDP) and Heidi Z’graggen (center). No other candidates ran against her.
The two Zug Council of States As expected, Peter Hegglin (center) and Matthias Michel (FDP) have been re-elected for another term. The attack from the SVP and the Greens had no chance. Hegglin received 23,077 votes and was 404 votes ahead of Matthias Michel (FDP), who received 22,673 votes. The absolute majority was 19,377 votes.
In the Canton Zurich According to an initial projection by the Zurich Statistics Office, Daniel Jositsch (SP) is likely to remain in the Zurich Council of States with 224,000 votes. Gregor Rutz from the SVP is well ahead of the other candidates in second place (160,000). However, he cannot achieve the absolute majority of 210,000 votes. A second round of voting is therefore certain. Regine Sauter (FDP) and Tiana Moser (GLP) follow well behind. According to the projection, they should get a similar number of votes. The second round of voting for the Council of States will take place on November 19th.
The second bales will take place between November 12th and 26th. The center currently holds 13 seats in the Council of States, the FDP 12, the SVP 6, the SP 9 and the Greens 5.
Council of States: “Chamber of Reflection” with a wide spectrum
Twenty cantons have two seats in the small chamber, the cantons AI, AR as well as BL and BS or NW and OW each have one seat. In most cantons the Council of States – also Called “Chambre de Réflexion” – elected by majority vote, Jura and Neuchâtel use the proportional voting method.
Appenzell Innerrhoden and Obwalden have already appointed their state councilors: Daniel Fässler (center) was elected in the Innerrhoden rural community in April. The Obwalden Councilor of States Erich Ettlin (center) was confirmed in a silent election because there were no opposing candidacies.
The total number of candidates for the Council of States is 184 – as of the end of September – about the same as in 2019. The same applies to the proportion of women: around a third of the candidates are women, according to an analysis by the Keystone-SDA news agency.
Aargau with 70 percent and Freiburg with 57 percent have the highest proportions of women in the cantons. In Vaud the proportion of women is 38.5 percent, in Zurich it is around 33 percent and in Bern it is 23.5 percent. No women at all are running for the Council of States in Appenzell Ausserrhoden, Glarus, Graubünden and Nidwalden.
Legend:
The small chamber is considered a “chamber of reflection” – discreet and influential.
KEYSTONE/Peter Klaunzer
In the 2023 election year, the candidates for the Council of States are on average 50 years old. The oldest is Alec André Schärer at 81 years old. The Jura native competes for Helvethica. The youngest is 22-year-old Zakaria Dridi from Vaud from the Party of Labor (PdA). Both are applying for a seat in the small chamber. Hannes Germann (SVP/SH) is the oldest of those running again at 67 years old. Germann has been politicizing in Stöckli for 21 years and was President of the Council of States in 2013/14. The youngest so far is Johanna Gapany (FDP/FR), aged 35.