At Stake in this Election:       

• The 46 seats in the Council of States (Ständerat/Conseil des Etats/ Consiglio degli Stati)

Government Structure:

• Chief of State: President Ueli MAURER* (since 1 January 2019)
• Head of Government: President Ueli MAURER (since 1 January 2019)
• Assembly: Switzerland has a bicameral Federal Assembly (Bundesversammlung/Assemblée Fédérale/Assemblea Federale) consisting of the Council of States (Ständerat/Conseil des Etats/ Consiglio degli Stati) with 46 seats and the National Council (Nationalrat/Conseil National/Consiglio Nazionale) with 200 seats.

* The Federal Presidency rotates among the 7 members of the Federal Council, which is the formal chief of state. Presently the Federal Council consists of Ueli MAURER, Ignazio CASSIS, Alain BERSET, Karin KELLER-SUTTER, Viola AMHERD, Guy PARMELIN, and Simonetta SOMMARUGA[1]. 

Electoral System:

• The President is appointed by parliament to serve a 1-year term.
• In the Council of States (Ständerat/Conseil des Etats/ Consiglio degli Stati), 6 members are elected by plurality vote in single-member constituencies to serve 4-year and 36 members are elected by plurality vote in multi-member constituencies to serve 4-year terms.  4 members are elected by list proportional representation in multi-member constituencies to serve 4-years terms.**
• In the National Council (Nationalrat/Conseil National/Consiglio Nazionale), 194 members are elected by open list proportional representation in multi-member constituencies to serve 4-year terms and 6 members are elected by a plurality system to serve 4-year terms.***

**Single-member districts correspond to the former half-cantons whereas two-seat districts correspond to former full cantons. The electoral system is a two-round system, with exception of Jura and Neuchâtel, where it is proportional representation.

***Seats are apportioned to each canton in proportion to the permanent resident population[2]. Voters have the option of panachage. The electoral system is proportional representation.

Main Parties in this Election:

• Party: Christian Democratic People's Party of Switzerland (CVP)
  • Leader: Gerhard PFISTER
  • Seats won in last election: 13
• Party: Fdp.The Liberals (FDP)
  • Leader: Petra GÖSSI
  • Seats won in last election: 13
• Party: Green Party of Switzerland (GPS)
  • Leader: Regula RYTZ
  • Seats won in last election: 1
• Party: Conservative Democratic Party (BDP)
  • Leader: Martin LANDOLT
  • Seats won in last election: 1
• Party: Social Democratic Party (SP)
  • Leader: Christian LEVRAT
  • Seats won in last election: 12
• Party: Swiss People's Party (SVP)
  • Leader: Albert RÖSTI
  • Seats won in last election: 6

Population and Registered Voters:

• Population: 8,591,000 (2019 est.)[3]
• Registered Voters: 5,283,556 (2015 est.)[4]

Gender Data:

• Female Population: 4,331,000 (2019 est.)[5]
• Is Switzerland a signatory to CEDAW: Yes (23 Jan 1987)[6]
• Has Switzerland ratified CEDAW: Yes (27 March 1997)[7]
• Gender Quota: No[8]
• Female Candidates in this election: Yes
• Number of Female Legislators: 65[9]
• Human Development Index (HDI) Position: 2[10]
• Social Institutions and Gender Index (SIGI) Categorization: Very low[11]

Disability Data:

• Is Switzerland a signatory to CRPD: No
• Has Switzerland ratified CRPD: Yes (15 Apr 2014)[12]
• Population with a disability: 1,218,275[13]