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Councilor of States Simon Stocker commutes between two apartments in Zurich and Schaffhausen. This bothers a complainant, because there is a residency requirement for members of the states. What Stocker says about the allegations.
Simon Stocker pulled off a surprise at the end of October: the people of Schaffhausen elected the 42-year-old SP politician to the Council of States. At the expense of the previous Thomas Minder (independent). Shortly after the election, criticism arose: the former Schaffhausen city councilor Stocker did not live in Schaffhausen, but in Zurich with his family. A Schaffhausen voter therefore lodged a complaint against the election.
Does Simon Stocker fulfill the residency requirement?
Attorney Peter Rütimann represents the complainant. He says that Simon Stocker has been registered in Schaffhausen since the beginning of 2022 and is renting a two-room apartment there – but he is only doing this so that he can be elected there. “His wife and son are registered in Zurich and his son goes to daycare in Zurich. “We are of the opinion that Stocker’s center of life is in Zurich,” says Rütimann in an interview with SRF.
Stocker’s center of life is in Zurich.
The lawyer specializes in residency issues and is also President of the FDP Winterthur. When asked if the complaint was politically motivated, he said: “No, that’s really not the case.” He doesn’t know the exact conditions in Schaffhausen or Simon Stocker. «For me it’s about the legal question. About what communities can do against voting or electoral tourism.”
Schaffhausen, like many other cantons, has a residency requirement for Council of States candidates. Lawyers are now clarifying what exactly this means in Schaffhausen. After the government dismissed the complaint, it is now in the High Court.
Editions do not fit modern everyday life
Andreas Glaser, Professor of Constitutional Law at the University of Zurich, is therefore looking forward to Schaffhausen with excitement. It’s about how the electoral law is interpreted in Schaffhausen. “An iron principle is: you can only have your political residence in one place,” he says. The requirements for this are strict. Also to prevent manipulation of voting results.
However, society has changed. “A residency requirement requires that a candidate be very rooted at all levels: work, family, club life.” A model of life that was widespread in the 1960s. “The question arises as to whether such a requirement would have to be adjusted.”
Accusations “far-fetched”
Simon Stocker himself finds the allegations “grotesque.” He has been at home in Schaffhausen for 42 years. His family has the three-room apartment in Zurich because his wife works in the canton of Aargau. This way she doesn’t have to commute so far.
The allegations are grotesque.
«We have a professional and life situation that requires my wife to solve it this way, that’s normal for us. “I find it far-fetched that this is now becoming an accusation,” says the SP Council of States. The family regularly spends weekends in Schaffhausen.
Would he provide the court with evidence such as electricity and water bills for the two apartments? “Yes,” says Stocker: “If we need any evidence, we’ll do it. The court should clarify it. I remain calm and trust our institutions.”
The Schaffhausen Higher Court is now investigating what speaks in favor of Simon Stocker’s actual center of life in Schaffhausen – and what speaks against it. It is unclear when the decision will be made.