General elections were held in Liechtenstein on 4 and 6 February 1966 to elect the 15 members of the Landtag. The Progressive Citizens' Party (FBP) won eight seats and retained its majority, while the Patriotic Union (VU) won seven. Voter turnout was 95.6%.

The Christian Social Party (CSP) also contested the election, but failed to win seats in the Landtag. Following the election, the coalition government led by prime minister Gerard Batliner remained. The CSP submitted two electoral complaints following the elections, but they were rejected. It was the last FBP-led government to be re-elected until the 2005 elections.

Background In the 1962 elections the Progressive Citizens' Party (FBP) won eight seats and retained its majority, while the Patriotic Union (VU) won seven. The coalition government under the leadership of Alexander Frick remained. However, Frick resigned in June citing health reasons, and was succeeded by Gerard Batliner in July.

Batliner's term in office was characterized by working towards greater international participation, including starting the proceedings towards joining the Council of Europe. It also saw the establishment of the Liechtenstein Music School in 1963 and the Liechtenstein Development Service in 1965. In addition, it also saw the increasing of child allowances following a successful referendum in 1965, and the passing of the Social Welfare Act the same year.

Electoral system The 15 members of the Landtag were elected by open list proportional representation from two constituencies, Oberland with 9 seats and Unterland with 6 seats. Voters vote for a party list and then may strike through candidates for whom they do not wish to cast a preferential vote, and may add names of candidates from other lists. Landtag members sit for a four-year term. The elections used a majority clause, where the party with the most votes would automatically win the most seats. Only men aged 21 and above were eligible to vote.

The electoral threshold of 18% was deemed unconstitutional by the Liechtenstein state court in 1962 and was replaced by a basic mandate system. In addition, a constitutional amendment passed in 1965 increased the number of government councillors from three to five, including making the deputy prime minister a full member of government. The amendment also reduced the term of the prime minister from six to four years, intended to synchronize the prime minister's term with the Landtag and government councillors who served a four-year term.

Campaign

Both the FBP and VU campaigned on their respective party newspapers, the Liechtensteiner Volksblatt and Liechtensteiner Vaterland. The FBP appealed to farmers and criticized the VU for supposedly not having any farmers on its party list for the election. Furthermore, the FBP accused the VU of wanting to achieve a majority of seats in the Landtag "at any cost", and that of lying. The FBP's programme included things such as expanding welfare, expanding education, establishing sports facilities, environmental issues such as clean land and air, and a balanced budget. The party's candidate for prime minister was the incumbent Batliner.

On the other hand, the VU highlighted its achievements in government, particularly in regards to fulfilling its programme from the 1962 elections, and accused the FBP of claiming credit for the VU's achievements. Furthermore, during campaigning the VU accused the FBP of becoming a "right-wing extremist party", citing alleged concertation of power, disregard to the minority in the Landtag, and youth exploitation. The VU advocated for things such as protecting private property, expanding education, social legislation, tax modernisation, and affordable housing. Its programme also included, among other things, maintaining friendly relations with Switzerland and Austria, and the building of a hospital in Liechtenstein.

The Christian Social Party (CSP) campaigned on its newspaper, Der Liechtensteiner, which had been founded in 1964. The party appealed to the economically disadvantaged and unemployed; it indirectly accused the FBP and VU of "vote buying". The CSP's programme included things such as the construction of social housing, supporting small businesses, building sports facilities, and road construction.

Candidates Political parties in Liechtenstein require the support of 30 voters from a constituency to be eligible to nominate a candidate list in it. A total of 39 candidates contested the election. OberlandFBPVUCSP Alexander Frick Hans Gassner Peter Marxer Josef Büchel Gustav Ospelt Josef Frommelt Josef Banzer Ernst Ospelt Gustav Jehle Roman Gassner Johann Beck Samuel Kindle Karlheinz Ritter Franz Beck Franz Vogt Otto Hasler David Schädler Ivo Beck Hugo Büchel Werner Walser Raimund Tschol Friedrich Vogt Florian Hermann Anton RischUnterlandFBPVUCSP Ernst Büchel Georg Oehri Leo Gerner Georg Malin Josef Hoop Gebhard Näscher Franz Nägele Paul Oehri Cyrill Büchel Oswald Hasler Josef Spalt Eugen Hasler Fritz Kaiser Roland Marxer Hans MeierSource: Liechtensteiner Volksblatt

Results The seat distribution remained unchanged from the February 1953 elections, with the FBP winning a majority of eight seats, whereas the VU won seven. The CSP received 8.7% of the vote, a 1.4% decrease from 1962, and did not win any seats. Voter turnout was 95.61%.

By electoral district Electoral districtSeatsElectoratePartyElected membersSubstitutesVotes%Seats+/–Oberland92,635Patriotic Union1,14946.25 1Progressive Citizens' Party1,13945.84 1Christian Social Party––1998.000Unterland61,257Progressive Citizens' Party65254.04 1Patriotic Union43235.82 1Christian Social Party––12410.200Source: Vogt

Aftermath

Following the elections, the coalition government between the FBP and VU under the leadership of Batliner remained. Alexander Frick became President of the Landtag upon its first session on 6 May 1966, with Franz Nägele of the VU as vice president. The Volksblatt stated that with the CSP the two-party system between the FBP and VU was "put to a real test for the first time". In addition, it also stated that the CSP receiving fewer votes than in 1962 correlated to the electorate choosing to maintain the two-party system.

The CSP filed an electoral complaint claiming that the party was entitled to one mandate in the Oberland electoral district. In addition, a separate electoral complaint was also filed by the CSP alleging that there were irregularities with the distribution of neutral ballot papers, and it requested that the election be annulled. Due to the complaints, the first meeting of the newly-elected Landtag was postponed. In the subsequent hearing on 9 March, the Liechtenstein state court rejected the complaints and declared the elections valid; the CSP and Liechtenstein government were represented by Peter Stern from Vienna and Walter Kieber respectively. The hearing reportedly attracted significant public attention, with the spectator tickets running out within twenty minutes.

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