The cantonal legislatures of Switzerland are the elected legislative bodies of the 26 Swiss cantons. Each canton has its own legislature, which operates alongside a cantonal executive and functions independently from the federal Federal Assembly. Legislatures are generally elected for four-year terms, except in the cantons of Fribourg, Vaud, Geneva, and Jura, where terms last five years.
The size and structure of cantonal legislatures vary. The largest is in the canton of Zürich with 180 members, while the smallest, in Appenzell Innerrhoden, has 49 members. Appenzell Innerrhoden is also the only canton with a formally non-partisan legislature; all others are organized along party political lines.
Party strength varies by canton. As of the most recent elections, the Swiss People's Party (SVP/UDC) holds the largest number of seats in nine legislatures, followed by The Centre (DM/LC) in eight, FDP.The Liberals (FDP/PLR) in seven, and the Social Democratic Party (SP/PS) in one.
Two cantons, Appenzell Innerrhoden and Glarus, use the traditional system of direct democracy, where eligible citizens vote by open assembly once a year. Although these assemblies are formally the highest legislative authorities, both cantons also maintain permanent representative legislatures, which are listed in this article.
Terminology The legislatures of the cantons have various names in different cantons and in the four official languages of Switzerland:
Grand Council (German: Grosser Rat, French: Grand Conseil, Italian: Gran Consiglio, Romansh: Cussegl grond ) is the name in the cantons of Aargau, Appenzell Innerrhoden, Basel-Stadt, Bern, Fribourg, Geneva, Grisons, Neuchâtel, Ticino, Thurgau, Vaud and Valais. In German-speaking Switzerland, the members of the Grand Council are called Grand Councilor (Grossrat (m) or Grossrätin (f)), except for Thurgau where they are called Cantonal Councilor (Kantonsrat/rätin). In French-speaking Switzerland, the title is Député (Member of Parliament). Cantonal Council (German: Kantonsrat) in the cantons of Appenzell Ausserrhoden, Lucerne, Obwalden, Schaffhausen, Schwyz, Solothurn, St. Gallen, Zug and Zürich. The term arose in the 19th century; the older names were Grand Council: renamed in Solothurn 1840, in Zurich 1869, in Zug 1873, in Appenzell Ausserrhoden 1876, in Schaffhausen 2002, in St. Gallen 2003, in Lucerne 2008) and District Administrator (renaming in Schwyz 1833, in Obwalden 1867 ). State Council (German: Landrat) in the cantons of Basel-Landschaft, Glarus, Nidwalden and Uri. Parliament (French: Parlement) in the canton of Jura (since the canton was founded).
List Canton LegislatureOfficial name(s) Members Largest party Lastelection Nextelection AG Aargau Grand Council 140 SVP (48) 2024 2028 AR Appenzell Ausserrhoden Cantonal Council 65 FDP (22) 2023 2027 AI Appenzell Innerrhoden Grand CouncilThe ultimate legislative body is the annual . 49 Non-partisan 2023 2027 BS Basel-Stadt Grand Council 100 SP (31) 2024 2028 BL Basel-Landschaft 90 SVP (21) 2023 2027 BE Bern Grand Council 160 SVP (44) 2022 2026 FR Fribourg Grand Council 110 DM (26) 2021 2026 GE Geneva Grand Council 100 FDP (22) 2023 2028 GL Glarus 60 SVP (18) 2022 2026 GR Grisons Grand Council 120 DM (34) 2022 2026 JU Jura Parliament 60 DM (15) 2020 2025 LU Lucerne Cantonal Council 120 DM (34) 2023 2027 NE Neuchâtel Grand Council 115 FDP (32) 2021 2025 NW Nidwalden 60 FDP (16) 2022 2026 OW Obwalden Cantonal Council 55 DM (19) 2022 2026 SH Schaffhausen Cantonal Council 60 SVP (21) 2024 2028 SZ Schwyz Cantonal Council 100 SVP (38) 2024 2028 SO Solothurn Cantonal Council 100 FDP (22) 2021 2025 SG St. Gallen Cantonal Council 120 SVP (42) 2024 2028 TG Thurgau Grand Council 130 SVP (42) 2024 2028 TI Ticino Grand Council 90 FDP (23) 2023 2027 UR Uri 64 DM (22) 2024 2028 VS Valais Grand Council 130 DM (48) 2021 2025 VD Vaud Grand Council 150 FDP (50) 2022 2027 ZG Zug Cantonal Council 80 DM (21) 2022 2026 ZH Zürich Cantonal Council 180 SVP (45) 2023 2027
See also List of cantonal executives of Switzerland Municipal executive in Switzerland
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