Swiss parliamentary elections 1893

← 1890General election of
the National Council in 18931896 →

Turnout: 58.4%

 %

50

40

30th

20th

10

0

41.8

20.0

16.8

10.3

5.9

4.0

1.2

FL

KK

LM

DL

SP

HE

Independent

Gains and losses

compared to

 % p

   4th

   2

   0

  -2

  -4

  -6

+0.9

-5.6

+1.1

-0.1

+2.3

+1.6

-0.2

FL

KK

LM

DL

SP

HE

Independent

The Swiss parliamentary elections in 1893 took place on October 29, 1893. There were 147 seats in the National Council for election . The elections were made according to the majority vote , with the country divided into 52 national council constituencies of different sizes . The liberals (or radical liberals) maintained their position as the strongest force. The Catholic Conservatives suffered significant losses, from which the liberal center in particular benefited. The newly elected parliament met for the first time in the 16th legislative period on December 4, 1893.

Election campaign

The dispute between liberals and Catholic conservatives after the violent Ticino putsch of 1890 gradually subsided. The election of Josef Zemp to the Federal Council in December 1891 in particular contributed to the reconciliation . Even the successful referendum against the partial nationalization of the Centralbahn could not change that. Instead of the confessional conflict, the focus was now increasingly on the economic situation. Switzerland was hit by a recession ; While unemployment rose noticeably in the urban regions, agriculture suffered from increasing mortgage debt. As a result, the social question dominated the election campaign. However, solidarity between workers and farmers only came about in the canton of Basel-Landschaft , where the farmers 'and workers' union was formed. In the other cantons, the common interests seemed to be too few. Nonetheless, various reform proposals from the farmers and workers' union flowed into the Social Democratic Party's program .

For the first time, the elections in numerous cantons took on a class struggle . Labor disputes such as the Käfigturm riot on June 19 in Bern and a congress of the Second International in Zurich in August increased the other parties' defensive stance against social democracy. The liberal tried to expand to the left. Although this brought about a rapprochement with the Democrats , it also had the consequence that the Grütliverein moved closer to the Social Democrats and thus a clear dividing line was created. The electorate of the new Grütlian-social-democratic group was ultimately assessed as not particularly large, so that the election campaign turned out to be rather slack. Due to the conciliatory attitude of the Liberals, the Catholic Conservatives lacked a central election campaign issue, especially since they now had to prove themselves as a ruling party for the first time.

During the 15th legislative period , there were 15 substitute elections in as many constituencies due to vacancies, with only marginal seat shifts. In 1893 there were a total of 63 ballots (three fewer than three years earlier). In 44 of 52 constituencies, the elections were already decided after the first ballot. Only two 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. This custom, which was common in the second half of the 19th century, was hardly noticed. With the last supplementary election on January 21, 1894, the National Council was complete.

The turnout fell by 4.1 percentage points compared to 1890. As usual, the highest value was recorded in the canton of Schaffhausen , where 91.5% cast their votes due to the mandatory voting there. The cantons of Aargau and Appenzell Innerrhoden also recorded over 80% participation . The lowest voter turnout was in the canton of Zug , where only 17.5% took part in the elections. The liberals stagnated and remained by far the strongest group. The Catholic Conservatives had to accept significant seat losses (−6), while the liberal center increased significantly (+7). The Reformed Conservatives were no longer represented in parliament.

Result of the National Council elections

→ Main article : Swiss parliamentary elections 1893 / Results of the National Council elections

Overall result

Of 670,948 male eligible voters, 391,610 took part in the elections, which corresponds to a turnout of 58.4%.

The 147 seats in the National Council were distributed as follows:

1

16

74

27

29

1 16 74 27 29 

A total of 147 seats

• SP : 1
• DL : 16
• FL : 74
• LM : 27
• KK : 29

Political party Seats 1890 before dissolution Seats 1893 +/- Share of voters +/- FL 74 73 74 ± 0 41.8% + 0.9% KK 35 36 29 −6 20.0% −5.6% LM 20th 19th 27 +7 16.8% +1.1% DL 15th 15th 16 +1 10.3% −0.1% SP 1 1 1 ± 0 05.9% + 2.3% HE 2 3 - −2 04.0% +1.6% Various - - - - 01.2% −0.2%

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

Note: Candidates can only be assigned to parties and political groups to a limited extent (with the exception of the Social Democrats). 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		SP		HE
Aargau	10	4th	81.6%	6th	−1	2	+1	2
Appenzell Ausserrhoden	3	1	68.8%	-	−1			3	+1
Appenzell Innerrhoden	1	1	89.0%			-	−1	1	+1
Basel-Country	3	1	45.0%	2	−1					1	+1
Basel city	4th	1	55.0%	-	−3			2	+1	2	+2
Bern	27	7th	52.9%	26th	+2	1		-	−1					-	−1
Freiburg	6th	3	60.2%	1		4th	−1	1	+1
Geneva	5	1	68.7%	2				3
Glarus	2	1	55.7%	2	+2			-	−1	-	−1
Grisons	5	3	59.9%	1		1	−1	2	+1	1
Lucerne	7th	3	28.6%	2		5
Neuchâtel	5	1	57.4%	5
Nidwalden	1	1	24.7%			1
Obwalden	1	1	23.2%			1
Schaffhausen	2	1	91.5%	2	+1					-	−1
Schwyz	3	1	22.3%			3
Solothurn	4th	1	50.9%	3				1
St. Gallen	11	5	74.8%	3		5		1	+1	2		-			−1
Ticino	6th	2	58.6%	6th	+4	-	−4
Thurgau	5	1	60.2%	3				1		1
Uri	1	1	45.9%			1
Vaud	12	3	51.5%	9	−3			3	+3
Valais	5	3	47.6%	1		4th
train	1	1	17.5%			1
Zurich	17th	4th	70.5%					7th		9		1
Switzerland	147	52	58.4%	74	± 0	29	−6	27	+7	16	+1	1	± 0	-	−2

Council of States

The members of the Council of States in 14 cantons were able to choose who were eligible to vote : in the cantons of Basel-Landschaft , Basel-Stadt , Geneva , Graubünden , Solothurn , Ticino , Thurgau , Zug and Zurich at the ballot box, and in the cantons of Appenzell Ausserrhoden , Glarus , Nidwalden , Obwalden and Uri an der Landsgemeinde . 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

1. ↑ Gruner: The elections in the Swiss National Council 1848-1919 , Volume 1, second part, pp. 730-732.
2. ↑ Gruner: The elections in the Swiss National Council 1848-1919 , Volume 1, second part, pp. 732-735.
3. ↑ 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. 227 , doi : 10.5169 / seals-81131 .
4. ↑ Gruner: The elections in the Swiss National Council 1848-1919 , Volume 3, p. 369.
5. ↑ Gruner: The elections in the Swiss National Council 1848-1919 , Volume 1, second part, p. 737.
6. ↑ Gruner: The elections in the Swiss National Council 1848-1919 , Volume 3, p. 485.
7. ↑ Gruner: The elections in the Swiss National Council 1848-1919 , Volume 3, pp. 225-236
8. ↑ Gruner: The elections in the Swiss National Council 1848-1919 , Volume 3, p. 360.