1999 Swiss federal election

Federal elections were held in Switzerland on 24 October 1999. Although the Swiss People's Party received the most votes for the first time in the party's history, the Social Democratic Party remained the largest party in the National Council, winning 51 of the 200 seats.

1999 Swiss federal election

24 October 1999
All 200 seats in the National Council (101 seats needed for a majority) All 46 seats in the Council of States (24 seats needed for a majority)
Turnout	43.3% 1.1 pp
Party Leader Vote % Seats +/– National Council Swiss People's Ueli Maurer 22.6% 44 +15 Social Democrats Ursula Koch 22.5% 51 −3 Free Democrats Franz Steinegger 19.9% 43 −2 Christian Democrats Adalbert Durrer 15.8% 35 +1 Greens Ruedi Baumann 5.0% 8 0 Liberals Jacques-Simon Eggly 2.2% 6 −1 Swiss Democrats Rudolf Keller 1.8% 1 −2 Evangelical People's Otto Zwygart 1.8% 3 +1 Federal Democrats Christian Waber 1.2% 1 0 Labour 1.0% 2 −1 Ticino League Giuliano Bignasca 0.9% 2 +1 LdU Anton Schaller 0.7% 1 −2 solidaritéS 0.5% 1 +1 Christian Social 0.4% 1 0 Feminist & Greens 0.3% 1 −1 Council of States Free Democrats 17 0 Christian Democrats 15 −1 Swiss People's 7 +2 Social Democrats 6 +1 Independent 1 +1 This lists parties that won seats. See the complete results below. Map of Swiss cantons colored by the party that won the most votes. The seats that were won in the cantons for both the National Council and the Council of States are shown as well. The independent elected to the Council of States from Obwalden sat with the FDP.

Results

National Council

Party		Votes	%	Seats	+/–
	Swiss People's Party	440,159	22.56	44	+15
	Social Democratic Party	438,560	22.48	51	–3
	Free Democratic Party	388,780	19.93	43	–2
	Christian Democratic People's Party	309,118	15.84	35	+1
	Green Party	96,807	4.96	8	0
	Liberal Party	43,870	2.25	6	–1
	Swiss Democrats	35,883	1.84	1	–2
	Evangelical People's Party	35,679	1.83	3	+1
	Federal Democratic Union	24,355	1.25	1	0
	Swiss Party of Labour	18,569	0.95	2	–1
	Ticino League	17,118	0.88	2	+1
	Freedom Party	16,887	0.87	0	–7
	Alliance of Independents	14,439	0.74	1	–2
	Solidarity	9,138	0.47	1	+1
	Christian Social Party	8,212	0.42	1	0
	Feminist and Green Alternative Groups	6,257	0.32	1	–1
	Other parties	47,120	2.42	0	–
Total		1,950,951	100.00	200	0
Valid votes		1,950,951	97.33
Invalid/blank votes		53,457	2.67
Total votes		2,004,408	100.00
Registered voters/turnout		4,628,782	43.30
Source: Nohlen & Stöver

By constituency

Constituency	Seats	Electorate	Turnout	Party		Votes	Seats won
Aargau	15	351,130	147,630		Swiss People's Party	684,136	5
					Social Democratic Party	403,663	3
					Free Democratic Party	369,994	3
					Christian Democratic People's Party	351,594	3
					Green Party	95,205	0
					Evangelical People's Party	82,278	1
					Swiss Democrats	59,072	0
					Ring of Independents	43,402	0
					Freedom Party	30,884	0
					Federal Democratic Union	30,168	0
					Urs Wirth	3,051	0
Appenzell Ausserrhoden	2	35,716	18,278		Swiss People's Party	12,890	1
					Free Democratic Party	11,268	1
					Social Democratic Party	10,182	0
Appenzell Innerrhoden	1	9,959	5,130		Christian Democratic People's Party	3,754	1
					Swiss People's Party	1,314	0
					Others	37	0
Basel-Landschaft	7	175,116	73,184		Social Democratic Party	117,978	2
					Free Democratic Party	111,517	2
					Swiss People's Party	91,099	1
					Christian Democratic People's Party	60,529	1
					Swiss Democrats	51,014	0
					Green Party	46,719	1
					Evangelical People's Party	12,233	0
					Sälbverständlich	11,710	0
					Freedom Party	1,558	0
					Red List of Critical Endangered Species	1,118	0
Basel-Stadt	6	117,588	55,770		Social Democratic Party	110,119	4
					Swiss People's Party	44,885	0
					Free Democratic Party	40,194	1
					Liberal Party	35,349	1
					Green Party	28,839	0
					Christian Democratic People's Party	28,432	0
					Democratic Social Party	15,100	0
					Swiss Democrats	12,696	0
					Evangelical People's Party	12,473	0
					Humanist Party	1,680	0
					Strong Basel	1,309	0
Bern	27	675,874	277,840		Swiss People's Party	2,099,834	8
					Social Democratic Party	2,029,878	8
					Free Democratic Party	1,263,455	5
					Green Party	548,613	2
					Evangelical People's Party	292,423	1
					Federal Democratic Union	290,510	1
					Swiss Democrats	273,464	1
					Freedom Party	201,299	0
					Christian Democratic People's Party	177,609	1
					New List	89,722	0
					Ring of Independents	56,298	0
					Workers and Pensioners' Party	23,574	0
					Humanist Party	7,978	0
Fribourg	6	156,868	64,697		Christian Democratic People's Party	126,236	3
					Social Democratic Party	75,908	1
					Free Democratic Party	55,227	1
					Swiss People's Party	42,831	1
					Christian Social Party	40,836	1
					Independent-Solidarity	16,716	0
					Independent Movement	6,334	0
					Democratic Social Party	5,948	0
					Future for All	1,684	0
					Free Ecological Initiative	1,424	0
					Swiss Democrats	1,223	0
Geneva	11	209,047	75,945		Social Democratic Party	161,435	2
					Liberal Party	149,455	2
					Christian Democratic People's Party	113,930	2
					Free Democratic Party	102,424	2
					Party of Labour	70,310	1
					Green Party	66,300	1
					Solidarity	64,977	1
					Swiss People's Party	60,208	0
					Union of Swiss Patriots	10,502	0
					Unity Against Social Dismantlement	5,011	0
					For A Better Future	3,435	0
Glarus	1	24,570	6,939		Social Democratic Party	5,179	1
					Others	866	0
Grisons	5	127,447	51,760		Swiss People's Party	66,936	2
					Social Democratic Party	66,010	1
					Christian Democratic People's Party	63,198	1
					Free Democratic Party	37,472	1
					Environmental List	5,650	0
					Adrian Steiger	3,595	0
					Forum for the Sovereign	2,432	0
					Free List	2,613	0
Jura	2	48,010	19,767		Christian Democratic People's Party	15,127	1
					Social Democratic Party	13,187	1
					Free Democratic Party	7,516	0
					Swiss People's Party	2,771	0
Lucerne	10	230,726	122,004		Christian Democratic People's Party	409,318	4
					Swiss People's Party	271,083	2
					Free Democratic Party	269,786	2
					Social Democratic Party	119,103	1
					Green Party	95,182	1
					Non-Partisan Movement	12,933	0
					Swiss Democrats	9,972	0
					Freedom Party	4,016	0
Neuchâtel	5	105,078	35,681		Social Democratic Party	48,061	2
					Liberal Party	41,220	1
					Free Democratic Party	35,280	2
					Green Party	25,213	0
					Party of Labour	11,795	0
					Solidarity	4,559	0
					Swiss Democrats	3,900	0
					Unity Against Social Dismantlement	1,763	0
Nidwalden	1	26,805	12,340		Free Democratic Party	9,546	1
					Swiss Democrats	846	0
					Others	164	0
Obwalden	1	Elected unopposed			Christian Democratic People's Party		1
Schaffhausen	2	48,182	29,840		Free Democratic Party	22,823	1
					Social Democratic Party	18,958	1
					Swiss People's Party	14,695	0
Schwyz	3	84,406	41,838		Swiss People's Party	36,080	1
					Christian Democratic People's Party	27,425	1
					Free Democratic Party	19,234	1
					Social Democratic Party	16,480	0
					Pro Freie	1,001	0
					Free and Independent Electorate	406	0
Solothurn	7	163,747	81,887		Social Democratic Party	153,457	2
					Free Democratic Party	143,140	2
					Christian Democratic People's Party	120,831	2
					Swiss People's Party	104,777	1
					Green Party	27,642	0
					Freedom Party	7,324	0
					Citizens' List	3,676	0
					Humanist Hemp Party	3,438	0
St. Gallen	12	283,297	123,612		Swiss People's Party	401,904	3
					Christian Democratic People's Party	380,655	4
					Social Democratic Party	248,539	2
					Free Democratic Party	245,371	2
					Green Party	58,070	1
					Ring of Independents	27,331	0
					Swiss Democrats	20,152	0
					Evangelical People's Party	19,151	0
					Federal Democratic Union	14,715	0
					Freedom Party	14,046	0
					Youth - Independent - Green	10,166	0
					Free Bourgeoisie	8,318	0
					Youth List	7,347	0
Ticino	8	192,912	95,946		Free Democratic Party	204,753	2
					Christian Democratic People's Party	191,666	2
					Social Democratic Party	138,646	2
					Ticino League	136,944	2
					Swiss People's Party	39,145	0
					Green Party	10,471	0
					Party of Labour	9,922	0
					Liberal Socialists	3,342	0
					The Mood Breaker	3,043	0
					Evangelical People's Party	1,590	0
Thurgau	6	141,044	62,922		Swiss People's Party	122,995	3
					Social Democratic Party	59,517	1
					Christian Democratic People's Party	58,314	1
					Free Democratic Party	54,333	1
					Green Party	22,780	0
					SMEs for Trade and Medium-Sized Companies	11,369	0
					Evangelical People's Party	10,298	0
					Freedom Party	9,891	1
					Swiss Democrats	9,184	0
					Federal Democratic Union	6,995	0
					Catholic People's Party	3,412	0
					Freedom, Law, Independence, Justice, Progress, Nature	661	0
					Swiss Citizens' Vote	479	0
Uri	1	25,451	9,230		Free Democratic Party	6,721	1
					Others	1,509	0
Vaud	17	365,522	115,306		Free Democratic Party	468,795	5
					Social Democratic Party	420,185	5
					Liberal Party	236,993	2
					Swiss People's Party	200,635	2
					Party of Labour	145,804	1
					Green Party	133,037	1
					Christian Democratic People's Party	84,497	1
					Federal Democratic Union	51,554	0
					Swiss Europe Renaissance	47,755	0
					Solidarity	39,426	0
					A3A Active Seniors Association	22,033	0
					Swiss Democrats	16,465	0
					Unity Against Social Dismantlement	6,256	0
					Straight Look Action	2,355	0
Valais	7	182,841	96,435		Christian Democratic People's Party	231,476	4
					Free Democratic Party	119,134	2
					Social Democratic Party	106,628	1
					Christian Social Party	93,774	0
					Swiss People's Party	56,742	0
					Green Party	13,156	0
					Liberal Party	11,680	0
Zug	3	64,457	34,487		Christian Democratic People's Party	26,735	1
					Free Democratic Party	26,023	1
					Social Democratic Party	23,604	0
					Swiss People's Party	21,731	1
					Senior Citizens	3,315	0
Zürich	34	780,462	353,340		Swiss People's Party	3,864,173	13
					Social Democratic Party	3,048,666	10
					Free Democratic Party	2,119,869	6
					Christian Democratic People's Party	609,457	2
					Green Party	492,017	1
					Evangelical People's Party	408,726	1
					Senior Citizens	260,926	0
					Ring of Independents	244,221	1
					Federal Democratic Union	209,452	0
					Swiss Democrats	183,811	0
					Alternative List	112,185	0
					Frauen macht Politik!	100,544	0
					Freedom Party	97,977	0
					SMEs and Trade	41,342	0
					Christian Social Party	25,929	0
					List for Tax Cuts	25,332	0
					Europe Party	21,302	0
					Liberal Party	18,305	0
					Humanist Party	11,951	0
Source: Bundesblatt, 7 December 1999

Council of the States

Party		Seats	+/–
	Free Democratic Party	17	0
	Christian Democratic People's Party	15	–1
	Swiss People's Party	7	+2
	Social Democratic Party	6	+1
	Liberal Party	0	–2
	Alliance of Independents	0	–1
	Other parties	1	–
Total		46	0
Source: Nohlen & Stöver