Swiss parliamentary elections 1875
The Swiss parliamentary elections in 1875 took place on October 31, 1875. There was a choice of 135 seats in the National Council . The elections were made according to the majority vote , with the country divided into 48 national council constituencies of different sizes . The liberals (or radical liberals) remained the strongest force and, like the Catholic conservatives, were able to expand their representation. The newly elected parliament met for the first time in the 10th legislative period on December 6, 1875.
Election campaign
The total revision of the Federal Constitution narrowly failed in May 1872, while the subsequent elections in October 1872 resulted in a clear majority in support of the revision. With a less centralized draft constitution, they managed to get the federalists from French-speaking Switzerland to their side. The cultural war that had broken out made this alliance easier, but it also evoked an anti-Catholic mood. As a result, the new constitution, which was adopted on April 19, 1874 with 63.2% of the vote, contained several confessional exception articles , which were mainly directed against the Roman Catholic Church . The new referendum law , however, gave the Catholic conservatives under pressure an effective opportunity to defend themselves against unpleasant proposals. This new political situation gave them the opportunity to strengthen their previously weak organizational structures. The Reformed Conservatives, who formed the "Federal Association", did the same.
The election strategy was not exclusively shaped by the Kulturkampf. After the major common goal had been achieved with the constitutional revision and the unifying brackets thus fell away, the old contradictions re- emerged within the “large liberal family” (free-minded, moderate liberals and democrats ). Depending on which alliances were formed, they made different demands from canton to canton. For example, the democrats in the canton of Zurich teamed up with the Grütliverein and presented a socio-political program with demands such as a ten-hour day and factory law , which brought them into conflict with the liberals of the upper classes. In some regions, tactical considerations led to the fact that the conservatives of both denominations also entered into temporary alliances, for example in the Bernese Jura and in the canton of St. Gallen .
During the 9th legislative period there were 21 replacement elections in 17 constituencies due to vacancies, more than ever before; in the process, the liberal won four seats. In 1875 there were a total of 59 ballots (six fewer than three years earlier). In 40 of 48 constituencies, the elections were already decided after the first ballot. As usual in the second half of the 19th century, the 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. Josef Martin Knüsel no longer received the trust of voters in his Lucerne constituency and then declared his resignation at the end of the year. With the last supplementary election on January 24, 1876, the National Council was complete.
Compared to 1872, voter turnout was 3 percent lower, for which the contemporary press blamed the rather quiet election campaign. The canton of Aargau had the highest value , where 85.6% of those eligible to vote cast their votes. The canton of Zug brought up the rear with 31.4%. The election winners were the Liberals and the Catholic Conservatives, who each gained three seats compared to 1872. The moderate liberals (-5 seats) and the evangelical right (-1 seat) recorded losses.
Result of the National Council elections
Overall result
Of 635,745 adult male eligible voters, 375,666 took part in the elections, which corresponds to a turnout of 59.1%.
The 135 seats in the National Council were distributed as follows:
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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 | KK | LM | DL | HE | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Aargau | 10 | 3 | 85.1% | 4th | 3 | +1 | 3 | −1 | |||||
Appenzell Ausserrhoden | 2 | 1 | 82.8% | 2 | +1 | - | −1 | ||||||
Appenzell Innerrhoden | 1 | 1 | 78.0% | 1 | |||||||||
Basel-Country | 3 | 1 | 41.6% | 1 | -1 | 1 | +1 | 1 | |||||
Basel city | 2 | 1 | 46.9% | 2 | +1 | - | -1 | ||||||
Bern | 25th | 6th | 54.0% | 24 | +1 | 1 | -1 | ||||||
Freiburg | 6th | 2 | 70.9% | 6th | |||||||||
Geneva | 4th | 1 | 36.8% | 4th | |||||||||
Glarus | 2 | 1 | 53.0% | 1 | 1 | ||||||||
Grisons | 5 | 3 | 67.5% | 3 | +2 | 1 | 1 | -1 | - | -1 | |||
Lucerne | 7th | 4th | 51.4% | 1 | 5 | 1 | |||||||
Neuchâtel | 5 | 1 | 46.5% | 5 | |||||||||
Nidwalden | 1 | 1 | 39.9% | 1 | |||||||||
Obwalden | 1 | 1 | 53.1% | 1 | |||||||||
Schaffhausen | 2 | 1 | 73.7% | - | -1 | 2 | +1 | ||||||
Schwyz | 2 | 1 | 34.5% | 2 | |||||||||
Solothurn | 4th | 1 | 45.4% | 3 | -1 | 1 | +1 | ||||||
St. Gallen | 10 | 3 | 78.6% | 2 | -1 | 2 | +1 | 3 | -1 | 2 | 1 | +1 | |
Ticino | 6th | 2 | 59.3% | - | −2 | 6th | +2 | ||||||
Thurgau | 5 | 1 | 64.8% | 2 | +2 | 1 | 2 | −2 | |||||
Uri | 1 | 1 | 67.0% | 1 | |||||||||
Vaud | 11 | 3 | 35.5% | 7th | 4th | ||||||||
Valais | 5 | 3 | 52.9% | 2 | +1 | 3 | −1 | ||||||
train | 1 | 1 | 31.4% | 1 | |||||||||
Zurich | 14th | 4th | 71.6% | 6th | −1 | 8th | +1 | ||||||
Switzerland | 135 | 48 | 59.1% | 63 | +3 | 33 | +3 | 22nd | −5 | 15th | ± 0 | 2 | −1 |
Council of States
The members of the Council of States were only able to determine who were eligible to vote in the cantons of Obwalden , Solothurn , Thurgau and Zurich (in Obwalden by the rural community ). In all other cantons, the election was 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
- ↑ Gruner: The elections in the Swiss National Council 1848-1919 , Volume 1, second part, p. 678.
- ↑ Gruner: The elections in the Swiss National Council 1848-1919 , Volume 1, second part, p. 679.
- ↑ Gruner: The elections in the Swiss National Council 1848-1919 , Volume 1, second part, p. 684.
- ↑ 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. 219 , doi : 10.5169 / seals-81131 .
- ↑ Gruner: The elections in the Swiss National Council 1848-1919 , Volume 3, p. 369.
- ↑ Gruner: The elections in the Swiss National Council 1848-1919 , Volume 1, second part, p. 684.
- ↑ Gruner: The elections in the Swiss National Council 1848-1919 , Volume 3, p. 485.
- ↑ Gruner: The elections in the Swiss National Council 1848-1919 , Volume 3, pp. 143-155
- ↑ Gruner: The elections in the Swiss National Council 1848-1919 , Volume 3, p. 354.