Bern-Mittelland National Council constituency
The Bern-Mittelland National Council constituency was a constituency in elections to the Swiss National Council . It existed from 1848 to 1919 (introduction of today's proportional voting rights ) and comprised an area around the city of Bern in the canton of Bern .
Electoral process
This was a plural constituency. This means that although several seats had to be allocated, the majority voting system was used. In the sense of the Romansh majority election , a candidate needed an absolute majority of the votes in order to be elected. Several ballots may have been necessary to distribute all seats. Each voter had as many votes as there were seats to be allocated.
Name and number of seats
Bern-Mittelland is an unofficial geographical name. In official use, consecutive numbering applied across the whole of Switzerland, arranged according to the order of the cantons in the Swiss Federal Constitution, was common . Due to the changing number over the years, some constituencies were given a new number several times. Bern-Mittelland bore the number 6 for decades from 1851 (first application of a uniform federal law) and received number 7 in 1911.
Due to the growing population, Bern-Mittelland was awarded a higher number of seats several times during constituency audits.
- 1848 to 1878: 4 seats
- 1881 to 1899: 5 seats
- 1902 to 1908: 6 seats
- from 1911: 7 seats
expansion
The area of the constituency was made binding for the first time on December 21, 1850 with the "Federal Act on the Election of Members of the National Council", whereby the constituency created by the Bern cantonal government in 1848 was taken over unchanged. It comprised:
- the district of Bern excluding the parishes of Bremgarten, Kirchlindach and Wohlen (corresponds to the political communities of Bremgarten near Bern , Kirchlindach , Wohlen near Bern and Zollikofen )
- the district of Schwarzenburg
- the Seftigen district
- in the district of Thun the parishes of Amsoldingen, Blumenstein and Thierachern (corresponds to the political communities of Amsoldingen , Blumenstein , Forst , Höfen bei Thun , Längenbühl , Pohlern , Thierachern , Uebeschi , Uetendorf and Zwieselberg )
In accordance with the “Federal Law on Federal Elections and Votes” of July 19, 1872, the parishes of Amsoldingen, Blumenstein and Thierachern were separated and added to the constituency of Bern-Oberland . Bern-Mittelland thus comprised:
- the district of Bern excluding the parishes of Bremgarten, Kirchlindach and Wohlen
- the district of Schwarzenburg
- the Seftigen district
A final change came with the “Federal Act on Elections to the National Council” of June 20, 1890, when the parishes of Bremgarten, Kirchlindach and Wohlen were separated from the constituency of Bern-Seeland and added to Bern-Mittelland. The constituency now comprised:
- the district of Bern
- the district of Schwarzenburg
- the Seftigen district
In 1919, the seven constituencies of Bern were merged to form the still existing constituency of the National Council of Bern , in which proportional representation applies.
National Councils
- G = total renewal election
- E = replacement election in the event of vacancies
- K = election of compliments by an incumbent Federal Councilor
- B = supplementary election for a Federal Councilor
source
- Erich Gruner : The elections to the Swiss National Council 1848-1919 . tape 3 . Francke Verlag, Bern 1978, ISBN 3-7720-1445-3 .
Individual evidence
- ^ Federal law on the election of members of the National Council (of December 21, 1850). (PDF, 676 kB) In: Federal Gazette No. 61 of December 28, 1850. admin.ch , May 21, 2013, accessed on November 2, 2014 .
- ^ Message from the Federal Council to the High Federal Assembly on the elections to the National Council (of June 24, 1872). (PDF, 722 kB) In: Federal Gazette No. 30 of July 6, 1872. admin.ch, May 21, 2013, accessed on November 2, 2014 .
- ^ Federal law on elections to the National Council (of June 20, 1890). (PDF, 296 kB) In: Federal Gazette No. 26 of June 21, 1890. admin.ch, May 21, 2013, accessed on November 2, 2014 .