Federal elections were held in Switzerland on 29 October 1939.[1] The Free Democratic Party emerged as the largest party in the National Council, winning 49 of the 187 seats.[2] Due to the outbreak of World War II, there were no elections in nine of the 25 cantons; Appenzell Ausserrhoden, Lucerne, Neuchâtel, Schwyz, Solothurn, Ticino, Valais, Vaud and Zug.[3] In what became known as "silent elections", a total of 55 candidates were elected unopposed.[3]
|
---|
Party | Votes | % | Seats | +/– |
---|
| Social Democratic Party | 160,377 | 25.93 | 45 | –5 |
| Free Democratic Party | 128,163 | 20.72 | 49 | +1 |
| Conservative People's Party | 105,018 | 16.98 | 43 | +1 |
| Party of Farmers, Traders and Independents | 91,182 | 14.74 | 22 | +1 |
| Alliance of Independents | 43,735 | 7.07 | 9 | +2 |
| Young Farmers | 27,708 | 4.48 | 3 | –1 |
| Social-Political Group | 16,891 | 2.73 | 5 | +2 |
| Communist Party | 15,962 | 2.58 | 4 | +2 |
| Liberal Socialist Party | 10,865 | 1.76 | 1 | +1 |
| Liberal Democratic Party | 10,241 | 1.66 | 6 | 0 |
| Evangelical People's Party | 5,726 | 0.93 | 0 | –1 |
| Other parties | 2,665 | 0.43 | 0 | 0 |
Total | 618,533 | 100.00 | 187 | 0 |
|
Valid votes | 618,533 | 96.67 | |
---|
Invalid/blank votes | 21,332 | 3.33 | |
---|
Total votes | 639,865 | 100.00 | |
---|
Registered voters/turnout | 861,266 | 74.29 | |
---|
Source: Mackie & Rose,[4] Nohlen & Stöver |
Constituency | Seats | Electorate | Turnout | Party | Votes | Seats won |
Aargau | 12 | 75,509 | 67,271 | | Social Democratic Party | 258,919 | 5 |
| Conservative People's Party | 168,606 | 3 |
| Party of Farmers, Traders and Independents | 113,270 | 2 |
| Free Democratic Party | 125,232 | 2 |
| Young Farmers | 41,663 | 0 |
| Ring of Independents | 34,097 | 0 |
| Evangelical People's Party | 27,075 | 0 |
Appenzell Ausserrhoden | 2 | Elected unopposed | | Social Democratic Party | | 1 |
| Free Democratic Party | | 1 |
Appenzell Innerrhoden | 1 | 3,501 | 2,153 | | Conservative People's Party | 1,640 | 1 |
Basel-Landschaft | 4 | 28,207 | 17,788 | | Social Democratic Party | 18,841 | 1 |
| Free Democratic Party | 16,448 | 1 |
| Liberal Socialist Party | 11,522 | 1 |
| Basel Farmers' Party, Free Democrats and Independents | 8,864 | 1 |
| Conservative People's Party | 8,767 | 1 |
| Young Farmers | 2,788 | 0 |
| Communist Party | 1,617 | 0 |
| Action Committee for Breaking the Interest Bondage | 259 | 0 |
Basel-Stadt | 7 | 51,833 | 35,833 | | Social Democratic Party | 81,452 | 2 |
| Ring of Independents | 34,711 | 2 |
| Liberal Democratic Party | 34,202 | 1 |
| Free Democratic Party | 32,087 | 1 |
| Conservative People's Party | 25,373 | 1 |
| Communist Party | 22,784 | 0 |
| Party of Farmers, Traders and Independents | 14,869 | 0 |
Bern | 31 | 209,052 | 148,467 | | Party of Farmers, Traders and Independents | 1,421,518 | 10 |
| Social Democratic Party | 1,351,567 | 10 |
| Free Democratic Party | 674,258 | 5 |
| Young Farmers | 458,062 | 3 |
| Conservative People's Party | 267,642 | 2 |
| Ring of Independents | 169,046 | 1 |
| Liberal Socialist Party | 123,477 | 0 |
| Communist Party | 24,891 | 0 |
Fribourg | 7 | 40,945 | 28,485 | | Conservative People's Party | 118,997 | 5 |
| Free Democratic Party | 51,815 | 2 |
| Party of Farmers, Traders and Independents | 24,003 | 0 |
Geneva | 8 | 50,172 | 31,849 | | Social Democratic Party | 90,591 | 3 |
| Free Democratic Party | 81,438 | 3 |
| Liberal Democratic Party | 42,836 | 1 |
| Conservative People's Party | 34,276 | 1 |
Glarus | 2 | 10,148 | 7,828 | | Social-Political Group | 6,495 | 1 |
| Social Democratic Party | 4,496 | 1 |
| Free Democratic Party | 4,242 | 0 |
Grisons | 6 | 37,409 | 28,325 | | Social-Political Group | 64,095 | 3 |
| Conservative People's Party | 56,059 | 2 |
| Free Democratic Party | 28,669 | 1 |
| Social Democratic Party | 15,939 | 0 |
Lucerne | 9 | Elected unopposed | | Conservative People's Party | | 5 |
| Free Democratic Party | | 3 |
| Social Democratic Party | | 1 |
Neuchâtel | 6 | Elected unopposed | | Social Democratic Party | | 3 |
| Free Democratic Party | | 2 |
| Liberal Democratic Party | | 1 |
Nidwalden | 1 | 4,463 | 3,180 | | Conservative People's Party | 1,430 | 1 |
Obwalden | 1 | 5,461 | 2,275 | | Conservative People's Party | 1,535 | 1 |
Schaffhausen | 2 | 15,692 | 13,896 | | Social Democratic Party | 11,620 | 1 |
| Free Democratic Party | 9,271 | 1 |
| Party of Farmers, Traders and Independents | 5,502 | 0 |
Schwyz | 3 | Elected unopposed | | Conservative People's Party | | 2 |
| Free Democratic Party | | 1 |
Solothurn | 7 | Elected unopposed | | Free Democratic Party | | 3 |
| Social Democratic Party | | 2 |
| Conservative People's Party | | 2 |
St. Gallen | 13 | 77,171 | 64,614 | | Conservative People's Party | 317,244 | 6 |
| Free Democratic Party | 213,143 | 4 |
| Social Democratic Party | 128,964 | 2 |
| Ring of Independents | 59,579 | 1 |
| Association of Free Democrats | 38,509 | 0 |
| Young Farmers | 35,309 | 0 |
Ticino | 7 | Elected unopposed | | Conservative People's Party | | 3 |
| Free Democratic Party | | 2 |
| Social-Political Group | | 1 |
| Social Democratic Party | | 1 |
Thurgau | 6 | 39,298 | 31,485 | | Social Democratic Party | 49,323 | 2 |
| Party of Farmers, Traders and Independents | 42,542 | 2 |
| Conservative People's Party | 36,987 | 1 |
| Free Democratic Party | 36,796 | 1 |
| Young Farmers | 13,991 | 0 |
Uri | 1 | 6,979 | 4,091 | | Free Democratic Party | 3,448 | 1 |
Vaud | 15 | Elected unopposed | | Free Democratic Party | | 6 |
| Social Democratic Party | | 4 |
| Liberal Democratic Party | | 3 |
| Party of Farmers, Traders and Independents | | 2 |
Valais | 6 | Elected unopposed | | Conservative People's Party | | 4 |
| Free Democratic Party | | 1 |
| Social Democratic Party | | 1 |
Zug | 2 | Elected unopposed | | Conservative People's Party | | 1 |
| Free Democratic Party | | 1 |
Zürich | 28 | 205,426 | 152,325 | | Social Democratic Party | 1,306,638 | 10 |
| Ring of Independents | 724,715 | 5 |
| Party of Farmers, Traders and Independents | 574,284 | 5 |
| Free Democratic Party | 517,470 | 4 |
| Social-Political Group | 338,508 | 2 |
| Conservative People's Party | 287,214 | 2 |
| Liberal Socialist Party | 111,943 | 0 |
| Young Farmers | 104,068 | 0 |
| Communist Party | 98,114 | 0 |
| Evangelical People's Party | 97,178 | 0 |
|
Source: Bundesblatt, 29 November 1939 |
Council of the States
[edit] In several cantons the members of the Council of the States were chosen by the cantonal parliaments.[5]
- ^ Nohlen, D & Stöver, P (2010) Elections in Europe: A data handbook, p1895 ISBN 9783832956097
- ^ Nohlen & Stöver, p1953
- ^ a b Nohlen & Stöver, p1948
- ^ Thomas T Mackie & Richard Rose (1991) The International Almanac of Electoral History, Macmillan
- ^ Nohlen & Stöver, p1956