Swiss Federal Elections
AS OF 2026-07-22 · 52 CONTESTS · federal election, 22 October 2023 · WIKIPEDIA, NATIONAL ELECTORAL AUTHORITIES
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Where the chamber sits · 5.6 of 10, left to right, spread 3.0 →
Every Swiss federal election from the founding vote of 1848 to 2023: seventy years of Radical rule, the PR revolution of 1919, the magic formula that made elections consequence-free, and the SVP era that broke it. The world's most stable democracy, charted in full.
Federal elections
52
1848–2023
Latest
2023
Swiss People's Party largest
The magic formula
2:2:2:1
the fixed party split of the Federal Council, 1959–2003
Referendums per year
~4
where Swiss politics actually happens
The chronology
Every election, newest first, era by era. Click any election for the full result and the story.
The SVP era · 2003–2023
Christoph Blocher turned a small agrarian party into the largest political force in Switzerland on an anti-EU, anti-immigration platform. The SVP claimed a second Federal Council seat in 2003, was briefly expelled from it, and set an all-time record of 62 National Council seats in 2023 — while the Greens' 2019 surge receded as fast as it came.
Swiss People's Party 62Social Democratic Party 41The Centre 29others 3
Swiss People's Party 53Social Democratic Party 39FDP.The Liberals 29others 4
Swiss People's Party 65Social Democratic Party 43FDP.The Liberals 33others 5
Swiss People's Party 54Social Democratic Party 46FDP.The Liberals 30others 4
Swiss People's Party 62Social Democratic Party 43Free Democratic Party 31others 4
Swiss People's Party 55Social Democratic Party 52Free Democratic Party 36others 7
The magic formula · 1947–1999
From 1959 the four governing parties split the seven Federal Council seats 2:2:2:1 by fixed convention, and elections became the world's most consequence-free: the same coalition governed regardless of the result. Turnout sagged below half. The formula held for forty-four years — until the SVP broke it.
Social Democratic Party 51Swiss People's Party 44Free Democratic Party 43others 8
Social Democratic Party 54Free Democratic Party 45Christian Democratic People's Party 34others 13
Free Democratic Party 44Social Democratic Party 41Christian Democratic People's Party 35others 18
Free Democratic Party 51Christian Democratic People's Party 42Social Democratic Party 41others 11
Free Democratic Party 54Social Democratic Party 47Christian Democratic People's Party 42others 11
Social Democratic Party 51Free Democratic Party 51Christian Democratic People's Party 44others 9
Social Democratic Party 55Free Democratic Party 47Christian Democratic People's Party 46others 6
Free Democratic Party 49Social Democratic Party 46Christian Democratic People's Party 44others 7
Social Democratic Party 50Free Democratic Party 49Conservative Christian Social Party 45others 5
Social Democratic Party 53Free Democratic Party 51Conservative Christian Social Party 48others 2
Social Democratic Party 51Free Democratic Party 51Conservative Christian Social Party 47others 2
Social Democratic Party 53Free Democratic Party 50Conservative People's Party 47others 1
Free Democratic Party 51Social Democratic Party 49Conservative People's Party 48others 1
Free Democratic Party 52Social Democratic Party 48Conservative People's Party 44others 2
The proportional turn · 1919–1943
The general strike of 1918 forced the change the Radicals had long resisted: proportional representation from 1919, which promptly cut their seats by half and made the Catholics and the new Farmers' Party permanent partners. The Socialists became the largest party in 1943 and joined the Federal Council that December, mid-war.
Social Democratic Party 56Free Democratic Party 47Conservative People's Party 43others 3
Free Democratic Party 49Social Democratic Party 45Conservative People's Party 43others 4
Social Democratic Party 50Free Democratic Party 48Conservative People's Party 42others 5
Free Democratic Party 52Social Democratic Party 49Conservative People's Party 44others 1
Free Democratic Party 58Social Democratic Party 50Conservative People's Party 46others 1
Free Democratic Party 60Social Democratic Party 49Conservative People's Party 42others 1
Free Democratic Party 60Conservative People's Party 44Social Democratic Party 43others 1
Free Democratic Party 60Social Democratic Party 41Conservative People's Party 41others 1
The Radical republic · 1848–1917
The federal state born of the 1847 civil war elected its National Council in two-round district contests, and the victorious Radicals dominated it for seventy years — governing alone until 1891, when the first Catholic-Conservative joined the Federal Council. Elections were frequent, turnout modest, and the executive never once fell to them.
Free Democratic Party 103Conservative People's Party 42Social Democratic Party 20
Free Democratic Party 112Conservative People's Party 37Social Democratic Party 19
Free Democratic Party 115Catholic People's Party 38Social Democratic Party 15
Free Democratic Party 105Catholic People's Party 34Liberal Centre 16
Free Democratic Party 104Catholic People's Party 35Liberal Centre 19
Free Democratic Party 100Catholic People's Party 35Liberal Centre 20
Free Democratic Party 84Catholic People's Party 32Liberal Centre 20
Free Democratic Party 86Catholic People's Party 30Liberal Centre 23
Radical Left 74Catholic Right 29Liberal Centre 27
Radical Left 74Catholic Right 35Liberal Centre 20
Radical Left 73Catholic Right 35Liberal Centre 19
Radical Left 74Catholic Right 37Liberal Centre 18
Radical Left 75Catholic Right 35Liberal Centre 22
Radical Left 57Catholic Right 37Liberal Centre 26
Radical Left 63Liberal Centre 33Catholic Right 22
Radical Left 60Liberal Centre 30Catholic Right 27
Radical Left 53Liberal Centre 39Catholic Right 21
Radical Left 59Liberal Centre 37Catholic Right 21
Radical Left 80Catholic Right 20Liberal Centre 15
Radical Left 80Liberal Centre 16Catholic Right 14
Radical Left 78Catholic Right 16Liberal Centre 16
Radical Left 79Liberal Centre 11Catholic Right 10
The long arc in charts
Hover any point for the exact figure.
Turnout since 1919
The world's gentlest decline: from over 80% between the wars to under 50% today: Swiss voters save their energy for the referendums held four times a year.
The SVP's rise
The largest party's share tells one story since 1991: the SVP's climb from agrarian also-ran to 62 seats in 2023, the highest tally of any party since proportional representation began.
Records & superlatives
Highest turnout
48.9%
1983 — of the elections with a recorded figure
Lowest turnout
42.2%
1995
Highest vote share
60.4%
Radical Left, 1857
Most seats won
115
Free Democratic Party, 1911
Years one coalition governed
44
the magic formula of 1959–2003: the same four parties, 2:2:2:1, whatever the voters said
Women first voted
1971
the last major democracy to enfranchise women at the federal level
How Swiss elections work
An election that changes little
Voters elect the 200-seat National Council by open-list PR, but the seven-member Federal Council is a permanent all-party coalition chosen by parliament. No election has ever removed a government: power shifts by fractions of a Council seat.
The magic formula
From 1959 to 2003 the four governing parties split the executive 2:2:2:1 by convention. The SVP's rise broke the arithmetic; today's formula gives it two seats, and disputes about the split are the closest thing Swiss politics has to a crisis.
Direct democracy does the rest
Initiatives and referendums decide the questions other countries leave to elections. Swiss voters overrule their parliament several times a year, which is why federal elections stay calm and turnout modest.
Concordance, not competition
The system is built to absorb rather than alternate: every major party governs permanently, opposition is a part-time role, and the National Council election is a census of the country's political weather rather than a choice of direction.