Rieder and Maret clearly re-elected as a duo in the Valais Council of States
Published: Sunday, Nov 12th 2023, 17:10
Updated At: Sunday, Nov 12th 2023, 17:14
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The center of the canton of Valais has defended its dominance in the Council of States. The incumbents Beat Rieder and Marianne Maret were clearly re-elected. The FDP politician Philippe Nantermod was clearly distanced.
Rieder from Upper Valais received 56,306 votes, while his party colleague from Lower Valais, Maret, received 54,273 votes. Rieder improved his result by almost 4,000 votes compared to 2019, Maret by almost 5,900 votes. "That's a direct hit", said a delighted Joachim Rausis, President of the French-speaking section of the centrist party.
FDP National Councillor Nantermod received 29,143 votes. The 39-year-old lawyer thus fell well short of his goal of winning his party a historic first seat in the small chamber for Valais.
Center bastion has held since 1857
Since 1857, the Council of States in Valais has been a stronghold of the former CVP, which has also changed its name to Mitte in Valais.
"I had hoped to achieve more, but that's democracy," said Nantermod on local television Canal9. The minority of 34 percent of the electorate who supported him deserved to be heard.
The defeat of Nantermod, who will run for a third term in the National Council, comes as no surprise. Observers had given him little chance. Apart from his own party, only the SVP in the Upper Valais had called for people to vote for the FDP candidate. Nantermod from Lower Valais was unable to overtake the other two candidates in either region.
As in the first round of voting, 60-year-old Beat Rieder from Upper Valais was the "high-flyer". He enjoyed very strong support in his region (24,530 votes), but also in Central Valais (18,641) and Lower Valais (13,135). Rieder will run for a third term of office under the Federal Palace dome.
His 65-year-old party colleague Marianne Maret also achieved a top result. She benefited from the official support of the SP women and probably also the left as a whole, whose concerns are closer to her profile than those of the FDP candidate.
Maret top in all regions
The French-speaking Maret achieved a surprisingly good result in Upper Valais (18,063 votes) and came first in both Central Valais (19,948) and Lower Valais (16,262), where she lives. As the first woman from Valais to win a seat in the Council of States in 2019, she will be taking up her second term in office.
Voter turnout was 38.4% and, according to the State Chancellery on Sunday, lower than in the first round (49.7%). It was highest in Upper Valais (46.8%), followed by Central Valais (36.8%) and Lower Valais (33.9%).
©Keystone/SDA
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