Swiss parliamentary elections 1869

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the National Council in 18691872 →

Turnout: 54.1%

 %

40

30th

20th

10

0

37.6

25.9

15.5

14.6

4.1

2.3

FL

LM

KK

DL

HE

Independent

Gains and losses

compared to

 % p

   6th

   4th

   2

   0

  -2

  -4

-2.0

-2.5

-1.5

+4.1

+1.2

+0.7

FL

LM

KK

DL

HE

Independent

Distribution of seats in the National Council

14th

57

30th

3

24

14th 57 30th 3 24 

A total of 128 seats

• DL : 14
• FL : 57
• LM : 30
• ER: 3
• KK : 24

The Swiss parliamentary elections in 1869 took place on October 31, 1869. There was a choice of 128 seats in the National Council . The elections were made according to the majority vote , with the country divided into 47 national council constituencies of different sizes . The liberals (or radical liberals) were able to gain, but missed an absolute majority, while the moderate liberals lost in favor of the democrats and catholic conservatives. The newly elected parliament met for the first time in the eighth legislative period on December 6, 1869.

Election campaign

For the first time, the elections were characterized by the development of formal election programs that had an impact on the formation of political will throughout Switzerland. The election campaigns were no longer limited to rivalries within the cantons, and the still loosely organized political groups were no longer content with simply ensuring the loyalty of their supporters. The main reason for this development was the upcoming revision of the Swiss Federal Constitution . On the one hand there were the supporters of a total revision in the centralistic sense, on the other hand the federalist -minded proponents of a partial revision, which essentially wanted to revisit the constitutional amendments rejected by the people three years ago. One of the most ardent supporters of the total revision was the left-wing democratic movement , which had already succeeded in enforcing its demands in various cantons. This included the expansion of direct democratic rights and state intervention . In order to be able to achieve this goal at the federal level as well, the democrats in Eastern Switzerland formed an alliance with the Grütliverein . The previous coalition of the Grütliverein with the radical-democratic student union Helvetia fell apart: In French- speaking Switzerland , where this alliance had been particularly close, there was strong resistance to the centralistic tendencies of the constitutional revision. The democrats in German-speaking Switzerland were particularly opposed to the liberal center around Alfred Escher , who made more moderate demands for revision.

Both camps agreed on only two points: centralization of the military and standardization of civil law . The material demands of the Democrats were hardly discussed in the election campaign, so that the program was reduced to the buzzwords “central state or federal state”. As a result, the old fronts between left, center and right were overlaid by the contrast between centralists and federalists, and in French-speaking Switzerland additionally by the division into revisionists and anti-revisionists. The sharp contrast between the topics enlivened the election campaign and generally generated greater interest in political events. The voters not only had to decide on individual candidates and the parties behind them, but also had to take a concrete position for or against a controversial political project. In addition, there was the fact that the electorate in individual cantons could elect the Council of States for the first time.

During the 7th legislative period , there were seven substitute elections in as many constituencies due to vacancies , and the resulting postponements were marginal. In 1869 there were a total of 67 ballots (two more than three years earlier). Only in 28 constituencies were the elections decided after the first ballot. As usual in the second half of the 19th century, all incumbent federal councilors ran for a compliment election ; that is, they stood for election as national councilors in order to have the voters confirm their legitimacy as members of the state government. As in the National Council elections in 1866, both Wilhelm Matthias Naeff and Jean-Jacques Challet-Venel failed in their constituencies. Regardless of this, they were subsequently just confirmed in office by the Federal Assembly . With the last supplementary election on January 20, 1870, the National Council was complete.

The turnout was 3.8 percent higher than in 1866. The value of 54.2% was the highest ever recorded in a National Council election. The increase is due in particular to a strong increase in participation in the densely populated Canton of Zurich (from 59.3 to 76.4%). The canton of Aargau had the highest value with 85.6%, while voters in the cantons of Schwyz and Zug showed the least interest with 22.1% each. The clear losers in the election were the moderate Liberals with 8 seat losses, while the Democrats and Catholic Conservatives benefited from the polarization .

Result of the National Council elections

→ Main article : Swiss parliamentary elections 1869 / results of the national council elections

Overall result

Of 568,713 male eligible voters, 308,510 took part in the elections, which corresponds to a turnout of 54.2%. 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 128 seats in the National Council were distributed as follows:

Political party Seats 1866 before dissolution Seats 1869 +/- Share of voters +/- FL 54 55 57 +3 37.6% −2.0% LM 38 38 30th −8 25.9% −2.5% KK 22nd 21st 24 +2 15.5% −1.5% DL 10 10 14th +4 14.6% + 4.1% HE 4th 4th 3 −1 04.1% +1.2% Various - - - - 02.3% + 0.7%

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, Democrats , Democratic Party )

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		DL		HE
Aargau	10	3	85.8%	2		5	−2	2	+1	1	+1
Appenzell Ausserrhoden	2	1	-	1		1
Appenzell Innerrhoden	1	1	-					1
Basel-Country	3	1	29.7%	2		1
Basel city	2	1	57.7%	1		1
Bern	23	6th	47.8%	19th		1	+1					3	-1
Freiburg	5	2	45.0%					5
Geneva	4th	1	45.7%	3	+3	1	-3
Glarus	2	1	-	1		1
Grisons	5	3	49.8%	3	+1	1	-1	1
Lucerne	7th	3	42.8%	2	-3			5	+3
Neuchâtel	4th	1	29.1%	4th
Nidwalden	1	1	-					1
Obwalden	1	1	-					1
Schaffhausen	2	1	79.1%			1				1
Schwyz	2	1	24.0%			1		1
Solothurn	3	1	76.8%	2				1
St. Gallen	9	3	66.0%	3	+1	5	+2	1		-	-3
Ticino	6th	2	22.1%	4th	+1	1		1	-1
Thurgau	5	1	70.2%	-	−1	1		-	−1	4th	+2
Uri	1	1	-					1
Vaud	11	3	39.9%	7th		4th
Valais	5	3	63.3%	2				3
train	1	1	22.1%	1	+1	-	−1
Zurich	13	4th	76.4%			5	−4			8th	+4
Switzerland	128	47	54.2%	57	+3	30th	−8	24	+2	14th	+4	3	−1

Council of States

For the first time, the members of the Council of States in the cantons of Obwalden , Solothurn , Thurgau and Zurich were able to determine who were eligible to vote (in Obwalden by the rural community). In all other cantons, the election was still made indirectly by the respective cantonal parliaments .

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, second part, p. 663.
2. ↑ Gruner: The elections in the Swiss National Council 1848-1919, Volume 1, second part, p. 664.
3. ↑ Gruner: The elections in the Swiss National Council 1848-1919, Volume 1, second part, p. 666.
4. ↑ Paul Fink: The «choice of compliments» by incumbent Federal Councilors in the National Council 1851-1896 . In: Allgemeine Geschichtsforschende Gesellschaft der Schweiz (Hrsg.): Swiss journal for history . tape 45 , issue 2. Schwabe AG , 1995, ISSN  0036-7834 , p. 218 , doi : 10.5169 / seals-81131 .
5. ↑ ^{a b} Gruner: The elections to the Swiss National Council 1848–1919 , Volume 3, p. 369.
6. ↑ Gruner: The elections in the Swiss National Council 1848-1919 , Volume 1, second part, p. 669.
7. ↑ Gruner: The elections in the Swiss National Council 1848-1919 , Volume 3, p. 485.
8. ↑ Gruner: The elections in the Swiss National Council 1848-1919 , Volume 3, pp. 113-126
9. ↑ Gruner: The elections in the Swiss National Council 1848-1919 , Volume 3, p. 352.