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1917 Swiss federal election

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Federal elections were held in Switzerland on 28 October 1917. The Free Democratic Party retained its majority in the National Council.^[1] They were the last elections held under the majoritarian system; following a referendum in 1918 in which two-thirds of voters voted for the introduction of proportional representation, the electoral system was changed and early elections held in 1919.

Electoral system[edit]

The 189 members of the National Council were elected in 49 single- and multi-member constituencies using a three-round system. Candidates had to receive a majority in the first or second round to be elected; if it went to a third round, only a plurality was required. Voters could cast as many votes as there were seats in their constituency.^[2] There was one seat for every 20,000 citizens, with seats allocated to cantons in proportion to their population.^[2]

Results[edit]

Voter turnout was highest in Schaffhausen (where voting was compulsory) at 86.8% and lowest in Uri at 23.4%.

Party		Votes	%	Seats	+/–
	Free Democratic Party	210,323	40.84	103	–9
	Social Democratic Party	158,450	30.77	20	+2
	Conservative People's Party	84,784	16.46	42	+5
	Liberal Democratic Party	25,188	4.89	12	–4
	Democratic Group	16,818	3.27	7	+3
	Party of Farmers, Traders and Independents	19,459	3.78	4	+3
	Others			1	+1
Total		515,022	100.00	189	0
Valid votes		515,022	94.04
Invalid/blank votes		32,630	5.96
Total votes		547,652	100.00
Registered voters/turnout		915,552	59.82
Source: Mackie & Rose,[3] BFS (seats)

By constituency[edit]

References[edit]