According to the regulator, the risks of real-time results were underestimated
Published: Friday, Oct 11th 2024, 16:10
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In the 2023 national elections, votes were mistakenly counted several times and party strengths were calculated incorrectly. Parliamentary oversight does not see any fundamental failings on the part of the responsible federal office, but does see underestimated risks.
The Federal Statistical Office (FSO) underestimated the risks associated with the publication of election results in real time, the National Council's Control Committee (CPC-N) found according to a statement from the Parliamentary Services on Friday. It concluded its investigation into the incident.
Improvements before the 2027 elections
The FSO would have needed additional measures to identify the error in good time before election day. Publishing election results in real time is a new challenge.
The GPK-N welcomes the announced improvements. It is calling on the Federal Council to ensure that the improvements are made before the federal elections in the fall of 2027. The mistake is regrettable; it is a matter of the population's trust in the institutions.
The FSO and the responsible Federal Department of Home Affairs (FDHA) had dealt with the matter appropriately and as a matter of priority, the CPC-N found. The FDHA's administrative investigation showed that there was neither an obvious breach of duty of care nor a breach of official duty.
Incorrect figures on party strengths
After the elections on October 22, the FSO published incorrect figures on national party strengths and only corrected them three days later. The reason for this was a programming error in a read-in script for three small cantons. The votes there had therefore been counted several times.
Voter shares for the SVP, the Center Party and the FDP were initially too high. And the correction revealed that the FDP and not the centrist party achieved the third-highest voter share at national level.
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