Statements

Calculating national vote shares

In connection with the calculation of national vote shares, the question has recently arisen in the media as to which electoral lists are used to calculate vote shares. This interest is probably due to the very close results achieved by The Centre and the FDP.The Liberals according to the provisional figures.

For the sake of transparency, the FSO publishes prior to the elections the allocation of all submitted lists to national parties on opendata.swiss (Federal elections 2023 | opendata.swiss). Extensive research is conducted beforehand on the allocation of lists to parties (e.g. on the basis of party statutes) and allocation is scientifically tested by an external mandate. Lastly, the general secretariats of the parties are invited to comment on and confirm the allocation.

Allocation LDP-BS at cantonal and national level

The Basler Zeitung (BAZ), in its edition of 10 November 2023 and online, falsely claimed that the FSO had corrected the vote share again and that it had now allocated the LDP-Basel-Stadt share of votes to the FDP. According to the BAZ, without this change, the vote share of The Centre would be larger than that of the FDP.The Liberals.

That the FSO during the course of the correction of the vote shares on 25 October 2023 undertook another correction that allocated the LDP to the FDP is untrue.

What is true is that since the elections of 2011 (i.e. after the merger of the Liberal Party LPS with the FDP to form the FDP.The Liberals), the FSO has allocated the LDP-BS at national level to the FDP.The Liberals and calculations of the latter party's vote share include the LDP-BS. This is because according to their statutes and those of the FDP.The Liberals (Switzerland), the LDP-BS is a member of the FDP.The Liberals (Switzerland).

To take account of the fact that the LDP-BS is independently engaged in politics at cantonal level - as also stated in the BAZ - the LDP-BS is reported separately in cantonal tables and graphs. The president of the LDP-BS has already been made aware of this fact previously by the FSO in writing, as has the FDP.The Liberals (Switzerland), prior to the 2023 federal elections and in previous elections. The BAZ were also informed of this procedure.

Allocation of SVP lists

The consumer magazine K-Tipp wrote online on 11 November 2023 that the FSO incorrectly did not allocate 8711 votes to the SVP. This was due to the fact that two lists ("active seniors" and "for productive agriculture") in Lucerne were not allocated to the SVP. The FSO notes that the procedure described above, including reconfirmation by the General Secretariat, was also applied to the SVP. In the run-up to the elections, the SVP Switzerland confirmed that the "active seniors" are not part of the SVP. After the elections, SVP Switzerland was again asked about the affiliation of the two lists – due to the accusation made by K-Tipp that the two lists had not been taken into account – and SVP Switzerland again confirmed that neither "active seniors" nor the list "for productive agriculture" should be counted as part of the SVP. This was also communicated to K-Tipp. The list allocation used by the FSO has therefore been agreed with the SVP's General Secretariat. The statement made by K-Tipp is therefore incorrect. 

All interested persons are free to construct a different allocation depending on their focus of interest. The FSO's allocation is based on the criterion of affiliation and in case of doubt is underpinned by examining statutes or similar documentation. Furthermore, allocation is confirmed in writing by the parties' general secretariats. This same method has been used for many years, allowing meaningful comparisons over time.

Neuchâtel, 13 November 2023 (Statement added to on 21 November 2023)

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CH-2010 Neuchâtel
Switzerland

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