Swiss parliamentary elections 1848

General election of
the National Council in 18481851 →

Turnout: 44.6%

 %

60

50

40

30th

20th

10

0

58.0

16.9

11.6

8.6

4.3

FL

LM

KK

HE

DL

Distribution of seats in the National Council

6th

79

11

6th

9

6th 79 11 6th 9 

A total of 111 seats

• DL : 6
• FL : 79
• LM : 11
• ER: 6
• KK : 9

Call for the first National Council election

The Swiss parliamentary elections in 1848 took place on different days between October 1 and 27, 1848. There was a choice of 111 seats in the Swiss National Council . It was the first nationwide elections since the time of the Helvetic Republic (1798–1803). They were made according to the majority vote, with the country being divided into 52 national council constituencies of different sizes .

The elections resulted in a comfortable absolute majority for the liberals (or radical liberals) - that is, the forces that won the Sonderbund War of 1847 and laid the foundation for the new federal state. Due to the lack of time after the adoption of the federal constitution , there was no uniform electoral law, which is why it was largely up to the cantons to determine the electoral modalities . Since the liberal forces had come to power in almost all cantons, they were able to influence constituencies and constituencies in their favor.

In all cantons the elections to the Council of States were indirect and took place through the respective cantonal parliaments . The newly elected parliament met for the first time in the 1st legislative period on November 6, 1848.

preparation

The first parliamentary elections were characterized by an extremely short preparation period. In July and August 1848, the individual cantons voted on the new federal constitution , which was supposed to replace the federal treaty of 1815. Based on the results, the Diet declared on September 12th that the Federal Constitution had been adopted. Time was pressing when the conservative-monarchist forces gradually gained the upper hand in the European revolutions and the new Swiss federal state therefore needed a government capable of acting as quickly as possible. On September 14th, the parliament passed a decree to hold the first elections to the National Council; the Federal Assembly was to meet for its constituent session on November 6th and to determine the Federal Council in the following session . The cantons only had around three weeks to organize the elections.

Constituency division

Division of the National Council constituencies

Since there was no time for the elaboration of a uniform National Council election law at the federal level, the daily statute made the only requirements for the number of seats that each canton was entitled to. She started from three principles. First, every canton or half-canton should be represented with at least one seat, which ruled out the amalgamation of various smaller cantons into a single constituency from the outset (this principle still applies today). Second, it did not set a fixed number of seats, but introduced a representation number, which resulted in a variable total number. Each National Council should represent 20,000 souls (residents), with a fraction of over 10,000 souls also entitling them to a seat in the National Council. Third, the number of seats should be reset every ten years according to the results of the census . The parliamentary statutes left the cantons largely free to shape the electoral districts of the National Council . She only gave the advice to forego single constituencies if possible and instead to combine several seats in one constituency (so-called plural constituencies). In this way, the church tower policy can be curbed and a “true nationwide national sentiment cultivated”.

There were various methods of guaranteeing a liberal election victory. In the canton of Lucerne there were only six electoral meetings with open voting, led by government officials. In this way, as many voters as possible should be kept out of conservative areas. The canton of Friborg used similar methods, which also required voters to take an oath on the new liberal cantonal constitution before voting. The canton of Aargau took a different path : there it seemed appropriate to unite the entire cantonal area in one constituency with nine seats in order to secure a free-spirited election victory. In the canton of St. Gallen , eight single-constituencies were initially proposed, but in the end four two-constituencies seemed the most suitable for the liberals. Other cantons with mixed denominations or political parties also took different paths. The canton of Ticino opted for a single constituency with six seats, the canton of Schwyz for two single constituencies, and the cantons of Thurgau and Valais for four single constituencies. The size and limits of the constituencies in the other cantons were largely undisputed.

Election campaign

Although the federal constitution was adopted with a clear majority, the pro-federally-minded circles could not be sure, due to a lack of experience, that they would actually win a victory over Catholic and Reformed conservatives in the upcoming elections. They considered a free-minded majority for the continued existence of the young federal state so essential that they openly admitted manipulations in their favor when structuring the constituencies. In view of the dangers of the European reaction, it would be necessary to strive for national unity and to gather all patriotic forces against the "forces of darkness" and the "disloyal opposition".

After the defeat in the Sonderbund War , the conservative opposition was fragmented and disorganized. Due to the manipulative constituency division and the discriminatory electoral legislation (the greatest excesses of which had to be partially reversed with the first uniform National Council election law of 1850), it was largely without a chance, even in its strongholds. The short election campaign was accordingly one-sided. The free-spirited propaganda raised the suspicion that the internal opponent, who has just been defeated, is striving to turn back the wheel of history in Switzerland with the help of the European reaction. Internal issues within the canton played only a subordinate role in the election campaign. It seemed more important to the press to remind the voters of the benefits of the newly adopted Federal Constitution: the more liberal one elects, the easier it is to enjoy the “fruits of the new covenant”.

There was competition above all within the free-thinking liberal bloc. A relatively large number of candidates ran in several constituencies and were elected several times, so that in some places supplementary elections had to take place to replace the superfluous. 13 cantons demanded an absolute majority for all elected, while the other cantons contented themselves with a relative majority for the second or third ballot. A candidate won the first ballot in only 27 constituencies. There were a total of 70 ordinary ballots and 13 supplementary elections (the elections in the rural parish cantons are not taken into account). This was followed by three replacement elections for the national councilors Stefano Franscini , Friedrich Frey-Herosé and Ulrich Ochsenbein , which were completed on February 25, 1849. The turnout varied greatly from canton to canton, from 11.4% in the canton of Schwyz to 81.5% in the canton of Thurgau (where voting was compulsory ).

Result of the National Council elections

→ Main article : Swiss parliamentary elections 1848 / results of the national council elections

Overall result

Of 512,691 male eligible voters, 228,877 took part in the elections, which corresponds to a turnout of 44.6%. The cantons of Appenzell Ausserrhoden , Appenzell Innerrhoden , Glarus , Obwalden , Nidwalden and Uri are not included in these figures : There the election was made by the respective regional municipality , which is why no exact results are available.

The 111 seats in the National Council were distributed as follows:

Political party Seats 1848 Share of voters FL 79 58.0% LM 11 16.9% KK 09 11.6% HE 06th 08.6% DL 06th 04.3% Various - 00.6%

FL = liberal left ( liberal , radical, radical democrats) LM = Liberal Middle (Liberals, Liberal Democrats) KK = Catholic Conservative ER = Evangelical Rights (Evangelical / Reformed Conservatives) DL = Democratic Left (extreme left)

Note: An assignment of candidates to parties and political groups is only possible to a limited extent. In line with the political reality of the 19th century, one can rather speak of party currents or directions, the boundaries of which are partly fluid. The party names used are therefore an ideological assessment.

Results in the cantons

The table below shows the distribution of seats won by cantons.

Canton	seats total	electoral circles	participating pation	FL	LM	KK	HE	DL
Aargau	9	1	80.7%	8th	1
Appenzell Ausserrhoden	2	1	-	2
Appenzell Innerrhoden	1	1	-			1
Basel-Country	2	1	37.6%	1				1
Basel city	1	1	74.4%		1
Bern	20th	6th	20.2%	13	3		4th
Freiburg	5	5	21.0%	4th	1
Geneva	3	1	48.3%	3
Glarus	1	1	-	1
Grisons	4th	4th	54.1%	2	1		1
Lucerne	6th	1	54.7%	4th	1	1
Neuchâtel	3	1	44.5%	3
Nidwalden	1	1	-			1
Obwalden	1	1	-			1
Schaffhausen	2	1	47.7%	2
Schwyz	2	2	11.4%		1	1
Solothurn	3	1	45.9%	3
St. Gallen	8th	4th	67.0%	6th	2
Ticino	6th	1	56.8%	6th
Thurgau	4th	4th	81.5%	2				2
Uri	1	1	-			1
Vaud	9	3	52.6%	7th				2
Valais	4th	4th	37.4%	2		2
train	1	1	71.3%			1
Zurich	12	4th	22.5%	10			1	1
Switzerland	111	52	44.6%	79	11	9	6th	6th

literature

• Erich Gruner : The elections to the Swiss National Council 1848-1919 . tape 1 , first part. Francke Verlag, Bern 1978, ISBN 3-7720-1442-9 .
• Erich Gruner: The elections to the Swiss National Council 1848-1919 . tape 1 , second part. Francke Verlag, Bern 1978, ISBN 3-7720-1443-7 .
• Erich Gruner: The elections to the Swiss National Council 1848-1919 . tape 2 . Francke Verlag, Bern 1978, ISBN 3-7720-1444-5 (notes).
• Erich Gruner: The elections to the Swiss National Council 1848-1919 . tape 3 . Francke Verlag, Bern 1978, ISBN 3-7720-1445-3 (tables, graphics, maps).

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Gruner: The elections in the Swiss National Council 1848–1919 , Volume 1, Part Two, pp. 610–611.
2. ↑ Gruner: The elections in the Swiss National Council 1848-1919 , Volume 1, first part, pp. 313-316.
3. ↑ Gruner: The elections in the Swiss National Council 1848-1919 , Volume 1, first part, pp. 325–326.
4. ↑ Gruner: The elections in the Swiss National Council 1848-1919 , Volume 1, first part, pp. 326–328.
5. ↑ Gruner: The elections in the Swiss National Council 1848-1919 , Volume 1, first part, pp. 328–329.
6. ↑ Gruner: The elections in the Swiss National Council 1848-1919 , Volume 1, first part, p. 322.
7. ↑ Gruner: The elections in the Swiss National Council 1848-1919 , Volume 1, first part, p. 315.
8. ↑ Gruner: The elections in the Swiss National Council 1848-1919 , Volume 1, second part, pp. 611-612.
9. ↑ Gruner: The elections in the Swiss National Council 1848-1919 , Volume 1, second part, pp. 613-614.
10. ↑ ^{a b} Gruner: The elections to the Swiss National Council 1848–1919 , Volume 3, p. 345.
11. ↑ Gruner: The elections in the Swiss National Council 1848-1919 , Volume 3, p. 369.
12. ↑ Gruner: The elections in the Swiss National Council 1848-1919 , Volume 1, second part, p. 618.
13. ↑ Gruner: The elections in the Swiss National Council 1848-1919 , Volume 3, p. 485.
14. ↑ Gruner: The elections in the Swiss National Council 1848-1919 , Volume 3, pp. 9-25