2nd ballots for the Council of States: initial situation in the cantons
Published: Monday, Oct 30th 2023, 22:40
Updated At: Tuesday, Oct 31st 2023, 00:54
Retour au fil d'actualité
In the elections for the Council of States, 31 of the 46 seats were allocated on Sunday. For the 15 seats still open, second ballots are necessary in ten cantons. These will take place on November 12 and 19. An overview:
Silent choice
BERN: The elections for the Council of States in the Canton of Bern have been decided. Bernhard Pulver (Greens) also waives the second ballot. This clears the way for the silent election of Werner Salzmann (SVP) and Flavia Wasserfallen (SP). In the canton of Bern, no one achieved an absolute majority in the first round of voting. SP National Councilor Flavia Wasserfallen achieved the best result with 158,843 votes. The previous SVP member of the Council of States, Werner Salzmann, came second with 157,944 votes.
Second ballots on November 12
FREIBURG: In the canton of Fribourg, no one achieved an absolute majority on October 22. Three Fribourg women are running for a seat in the Council of States in the second round of voting. This means that Isabelle Chassot from the center, Johanna Gapany from the FDP and Alizée Rey from the SP are facing each other. SVP man Pierre-André Page withdrew from the race. Chassot, a centrist member of the Council of States, is the clear favorite in the race.
GENEVA: In Geneva, a battle is brewing between left and right for the two seats in the Council of States. The conservative parties have a good chance of breaking the red-green dominance that has prevailed in Geneva since 2007. Among the established parties, two duos are facing each other. The united civic parties (FDP, center, SVP and MCG) are sending MCG politician Mauro Poggia and SVP national councilor Céline Amaudruz into the race. The pair is running against incumbents Lisa Mazzone of the Greens and Carlo Sommaruga of the SP. The two candidates of the grouping "Liberté le peuple d'abord" are not considered to have a chance.
WAADT: In Vaud, SP man Pierre-Yves Maillard was elected to the Council of States in the first round of voting. The National Councilor and President of the Swiss Federation of Trade Unions was the only candidate to achieve an absolute majority. In the second ballot, FDP candidate Pascal Broulis and the Green Raphaël Mahaim will face each other. Broulis was a good 37,000 votes ahead of Mahaim after the first round of voting. After the party meetings on Monday evening, all other candidates withdrew from the race, and no other candidate came forward by the deadline for proposals on Tuesday afternoon.
WALLIS: In Valais, Philippe Nantermod, a liberal, is challenging the two incumbents Beat Rieder and Marianne Maret (both center). No other candidates came forward by the time the list closed. The Council of States in Valais has always been a bastion of the center. Rieder (52,748 votes) and Maret (43,204) were well ahead in the first round of the election of Nantermod (25,145), who received around 18,000 votes less.
Second ballots on November 19
ZURICH: While Daniel Jositsch (SP, previously) was able to secure his seat on the Council of States in the canton of Zurich in the first round of voting, the seat vacated by Ruedi Noser (FDP) will be contested in the second round between Gregor Rutz of the SVP, who came second in the first round, and GLP National Councilor Tiana Moser. Earlier, FDP candidate Regine Sauter had withdrawn from the race for the second round, ending a 40-year era of Zurich's Freisinn in the Council of States. The center national councilor Philipp Kutter and the Green Daniel Leupi also announced their withdrawal. SP, Greens and EVP have announced that they support Tiana Moser. The center party decided to abstain from voting.
AARGAU: Council of States member Thierry Burkart (FDP) was re-elected. Vacant is the previous SVP seat. Benjamin Giezendanner (SVP) will run again after the good result in the second round. The center sends Marianne Binder into the race. SP candidate Gabriela Suter and the three other candidates for the Council of States, Irène Kälin (Greens), Barbara Portmann (GLP) and Lilian Studer (EVP), will not be running in the second round. They stand united behind Binder to prevent the election of Giezendanner. The women's issue is also likely to play a role in the battle between Binder and Giezendanner. The canton of Aargau has been represented by two men in the Council of States for the past four years.
SCHAFFHAUSEN: In the canton of Schaffhausen, FDP candidate Nina Schärrer will not run in the second round of elections. This means that the current Council of States member Thomas Minder (no party affiliation) and Simon Stocker (SP) are still on the ballot for the second seat. The previous Hannes Germann (SVP) was already elected in the first ballot. Last Sunday Stocker received 13,456 votes. Minder came to 12,045 votes.
SOLOTHURN: Council of States member Pirmin Bischof (center) was re-elected. The previous SP seat is vacant. National Councilor Franziska Roth (SP) and National Councilor Christian Imark (SVP) are fighting for the mandate. The SVP Solothurn wants to provide a Council of States for the first time. The FDP withdrew Cantonal Councillor Remo Ankli from the race. National Councilor Felix Wettstein (Greens) and Dieter Künzli (GLP) also withdrew their candidacy for the runoff election.
Ticino: The favorite for the second ballot for the Ticino Council of States is SVP party president Marco Chiesa. He was more than 10,000 votes ahead of runner-up Fabio Regazzi (center) after the first round of voting, who has confirmed his participation in the second round. Also entering the race are third-placed Alex Farinelli of the FDP and Greta Gysin of the Greens. Amalia Mirante of "Avanti con Ticino & Lavoro" is also running in the second round. Bruno Storni of the SP, who should have defended the vacant seat of Marina Carobbio, does not run again.
©Keystone/SDA
French 
English 
German 
Spanish 
Arabic