At Stake in this Election: 

• All 200 seats in the Swiss National Council 

The Council of States election will occur concurrently. 

Government Structure:  

• Chief of State: President Alain BERSET (since 1 January 2023) 

• Head of Government: President Alain BERSET (since 1 January 2023) 

• Assembly: bicameral Federal Assembly (Bundesversammlung) with a 46-seat Council of States (Ständerat) and a 200-seat National Council (Nationalrat) 

Electoral System:  

• The President is elected from among the Federal Council by vote of the Federal Assembly. The President serves 1-year, non-consecutive terms. 

• The Federal Council is indirectly elected by the Federal Assembly, and members serve 4-year terms. 

• In the Council of States, 42 members are directly elected by absolute majority vote, and 4 members (from Jura and Neuchâtel cantons) are directly elected by list proportional representation vote. Member term lengths vary by constituency (canton). 

• In the National Council, 194 members are directly elected by proportional representation vote, and 6 are directly elected by plurality vote. All members serve 4-year terms. 

Last Election: 

In 2019, the Swiss People’s Party won 53 seats on the National Council, followed by the Social Democratic Party (39 seats), and 9 other parties. Voter turnout was 45.10%. 

Key Deadlines: 

• Candidate filing deadline:  

• A Monday in August 2023 for cantons that use proportional representation systems (exact date varies by canton) 

• 4 September 2023 for cantons that use plurality systems 

• Voter registration deadline: N/A; Switzerland uses a passive, residence-based voter registration system. 

Main Parties in this Election: 

• Swiss People’s Party / Schweizerische Volkspartei (SVP) 

• Leader: Marco CHIESA 

• Seats won in last election: 53 out of 200 

• Social Democratic Party / Sozialdemokratische Partei der Schweiz (SP) 

• Leader: Mattea MEYER and Cédric WERMUTH 

• Seats won in last election: 39 out of 200 

• FDP.The Liberals / FDP.Die Liberalen (FDP) 

• Leader: Thierry BURKART 

• Seats won in last election: 29 out of 200 

• Green Party / GRÜNE Schweiz 

• Leader: Balthasar GLÄTTLI 

• Seats won in last election: 28 out of 200 

• The Centre / Die Mitte  

• Leader: Gerhard PFISTER 

• Seats won in last election: 25 out of 200 (as the Christian Democratic People’s Party) 

• Green Liberal Party of Switzerland / Grunliberale (GLP) 

• Leader: Jürg GROSSEN 

• Seats won in last election: 16 out of 200 

Population and Registered Voters: 

• Population: 8,563,760 (2023 est.) 

• Registered Voters: 5,539,952 (2022) 

Gender Data: 

• Female Population: 4,325,131 (2023 est.) 

• CEDAW Status: Signed 23 January 1987, Ratified 27 March 1997 

• Gender Quota: No 

• Female Candidates in this election: Yes 

• Number of Female Legislators (pre-election): 13 out of 45 (28.9%) in the Council of States and 83 out of 199 (41.7%) in the National Council 

• Human Development Index (HDI) Position: 0.962, Very High, Rank 1 (2021) 

• Social Institutions and Gender Index (SIGI) Categorization: 9.9 (2023) 

Disability Data: 

• CRPD Status: Ratified (by accession) 15 April 2014 

• Projected population with a disability: 1,284,564 (2023 est.)  

IFES Resources: 

• Does IFES have a presence in Switzerland: No  

• Election Access: Yes 

• Election Judgements: Yes, 5 judgments and 13 resources