Still no new cantonal councillor in Glarus – FDP fears for seat
Published: Sunday, Mar 3rd 2024, 14:40
العودة إلى البث المباشر
As expected, no decision was made on Sunday in the election to replace the five members of the Glarus cantonal government. However, the FDP is at risk of losing one of its two seats. The second round of voting will take place on March 24.
In the battle to succeed outgoing mayor Benjamin Mühlemann (FDP), all three candidates missed the absolute majority of 5810 votes.
Center candidate Daniela Bösch-Widmer achieved the best result with 4587 votes, according to the Glarus State Chancellery. She was closely followed by SVP candidate Thomas Tschudi with 4268 votes. FDP candidate Roger Schneider, who is to defend Mühlemann's seat for the FDP, was well behind with 2436 votes. The voter turnout was 46.94 percent.
In the by-election, the central question is which conservative party currently represented in the government will have a second seat. This is currently held by the FDP. The Center Party, SVP and SP each hold one seat. The SP is the only governing party not taking part in the by-election.
Strong headwind for the FDP
With the surprisingly weak performance of its candidate, the FDP's chances of retaining Mühlemann's seat look bleak. FDP candidate Schneider is not ruling out the possibility of pulling out before the second round of voting, as the 55-year-old business IT specialist told the Keystone-SDA news agency at the town hall in Glarus. He will discuss the next steps with the party leadership on Sunday.
"I was hoping for first place and my hopes have been fulfilled," said Daniela Bösch-Widmer. She feels she has the support of the population. If elected, the 46-year-old special education teacher would be the second woman in government alongside Marianne Lienhard (SVP).
SVP candidate Thomas Tschudi was delighted with his result. "I didn't expect to be so close behind Daniela Bösch-Widmer," the 45-year-old vice president of the Glarus SVP told Keystone-SDA. He wants to go into the second round of voting. Nevertheless, the party wants to discuss its strategy first and communicate it on Monday.
Landammann Benjamin Mühlemann was elected to the Council of States last October and will step down as a member of the cantonal government at the Landsgemeinde 2024. This necessitated a by-election to the government. In the second ballot, a relative majority is sufficient for election to the government.
©كيستون/إسدا
Arabic 
English 
German 
French 
Spanish