Federal elections were held in Switzerland on 18 October 2015 for the National Council and the first round of elections to the Council of States, with runoff elections to the Council of States being held in various cantons until 22 November.

Results showed a shift, due to voter concerns regarding refugee immigration, to the right and increased support for the three largest parties, with the strong showing of Swiss People's Party and FDP.The Liberals possibly affecting future reforms of energy, social security and tax issues, as well as the make-up of the seven-member government.

The Swiss People's Party won a record number of seats, taking a third of the 200-seat lower house. The SVP received the highest proportion of votes of any Swiss political party since 1919, when proportional representation was first introduced, and it received more seats in the National Council than any other political party since 1963, when the number of seats was set at 200.

The federal election was followed by the 2015 Swiss Federal Council election on 9 December 2015, where the SVP won a second seat on the Federal Council.

Electoral system The 200 members of the National Council were elected by plurality in six single-member constituencies, and by proportional representation in 20 multi-member constituencies, with the 26 constituencies being the 26 cantons.Swiss Confederation seat allocations are for the 2019 election, but the page also provides the seat changes from the 2015 election The elections were held using the open list system where voters could cross out names on party lists, with voters also able to split their vote between parties (a system known as panachage) or draw up their own list on a blank ballot. Seats are allocated using the Hagenbach-Bischoff system.Electoral system IPU

The 46 members of the Council of States were elected in 20 two-seat constituencies (representing the 20 full cantons) and six single-member constituencies (representing the six half-cantons). In Jura and Neuchâtel the elections were held using proportional representation. In the other cantons, councilors are elected through an up to two-round system of voting. In the first round of voting, candidates must obtain an absolute majority of the vote in order to be elected. If no candidate receives an absolute majority in the first round of voting then a second round is held in which a simple plurality is sufficient to be elected. The top two finishing candidates are elected in the second round.Electoral system IPU

Compulsory voting was in force in the canton of Schaffhausen for both elections.Compulsory voting around the world . The Electoral Commission

Campaign The parties contesting the elections were: Political party Leader Political spectrum Swiss People's Party (SVP) Toni Brunner Right-wing Social Democratic Party of Switzerland (SP) Christian Levrat Centre-left to left-wing FDP.The Liberals (FDP) Philipp Müller Centre-right Christian Democratic People's Party of Switzerland (CVP/PDC) Christophe Darbellay Centre to centre-right Green Party of Switzerland (GPS) Adèle Thorens, Regula Rytz Left-wing Green Liberal Party of Switzerland (glp) Martin Bäumle Centre Conservative Democratic Party of Switzerland (BDP) Martin Landolt Centre to centre-right Evangelical People's Party of Switzerland (EVP) Marianne Streiff Centre Ticino League (TL) Attilio Bignasca Right-wing Alternative Left (AL) Frédéric Charpié Left-wing Federal Democratic Union of Switzerland (EDU) Hans Moser Right-wing Christian Social Party (Switzerland) (CSP) Marius Achermann Centre-left Geneva Citizens' Movement (MCG) Roger Golay Right-wing

Opinion polls DateInstitutionSVPSPSFDPCVPGPSBDPGLPEVPALEDULEGACSPMCGOtherLead18 October 20152015 Elections29.4% 18.8% 16.4% 11.6% 7.1% 4.1% 4.6% 1.9% 1.2% 1.2% 1.0% 0.2% 0.3% – 10.6%2 October 2015Sotomo/20min 29.0% 18.4% 15.8% 11.4% 7.4% 4.9% 5.2% – – – – – – 7.9% 10.6%16 September 2015Sotomo/20min 29.0% 17.6% 16.8% 11.2% 6.9% 4.9% 5.1% – – – – – – – 11.4%GfS Berne/SSR28.0% 19.3% 16.9% 11.1% 7.4% 4.2% 4.3% 1.7% – – – – – 7.1% 8.7%24 June 201520min/Somoto27.6% 18.2% 16.4% 12.0% 6.8% 4.9% 5.0% – – – – – – 13.0% 9.4%24 June 2015GfS Berne/SSR26.1% 19.3% 17.1% 11.5% 7.4% 4.4% 4.8% 1.9% – 1.1% 0.9% – – 5.5% 6.8%31 March 2015GfS Berne/SSR26.2% 19.6% 16.3% 11.8% 7.5% 4.6% 5.6% 1.9% – 1.0% 0.8% – – 4.7% 6.5%21 December 201423.8% 19.8% 15.7% 12.4% 8.2% 7.2% 7.4% – – – – – – – 6.0%3 October 2014GfS Berne/Le Temps24.6% 20.1% 15.8% 11.2% 7.3% 4.8% 7.3% 1.8% – 1.4% 1% – – 4.7% 4.5%30 March 2014Léger Marketing/Le Matin25% 19.4% 15.2% 12.2% 7.4% 6.9% 6.6% – – – – – – – 5.6%27 September 2013GfS Berne/SSR 25.8% 18.7% 14.7% 11.7% 8.3% 7.5% 5.8% 1.8% 1.2% 1.0% 1.0% – – 2.5% 7.1%15 September 2013Isopublic/Le Matin 24.3% 19.6% 14.1% 13.1% 7.3% 6.1% 6.6% – – – – – – – 4.7%21 October 2012Isopublic/Blick23.7% 19.5% 15.9% 12.9% 8.2% 6.9% 7.0% – – – – – – – 4.2%16 September 2012Isopublic/Le Matin23.9% 19.3% 16.3% 13% 8.2% 6.2% 7.7% – – – – – – – 4.6%25 March 2012Isopublic/Le Matin23.7% 19.9% 15.8% 12.1% 8.2% 7.0% 7.5% – – – – – – – 3.8%23 October 20112011 Elections26.6% 18.7% 15.1% 12.3% 8.4% 5.4% 5.4% 2% 0.9% 1.3% 0.8% 0.3% 0.4% – 7.9%

Results Global media commented on the gains of the Swiss People's Party, linking it to concerns of the electorate on the European migrant crisis. Combined, right-of-centre parties received a slim 101-seat majority in the National Council. While the right-of-centre SVP and FDP made gains, centrist and left-of-centre parties lost seats in the National Council. The FDP increased its share of the popular vote for the first time since the 1979 federal election.

In the Swiss capital Bern, a group of activists in favour of settling refugees held a demonstration on the day of the election, which is prohibited by law. A total of 110 were arrested.

The election results elicited various responses from the Swiss media, such as that the election represented "a return to normality" after a period when the legislative makeup was not as clear, or that it represented "a divided country." Newspapers, both in Switzerland and in other countries, also noted the SVP's historic gains.

National Council

Council of States

By canton Canton Seat 1 Party Seat 2 Party Daniel Jositsch Social Democratic Party Ruedi Noser FDP.The Liberals Werner Luginbühl* Conservative Democratic Party Hans Stöckli* Social Democratic Party Konrad Graber* Damian Müller FDP.The Liberals Isidor Baumann* Christian Democratic People's Party Josef Dittli FDP.The Liberals Peter Föhn* Swiss People's Party Alex Kuprecht* Swiss People's Party Hans Wicki FDP.The Liberals N/A Erich Ettlin Christian Democratic People's Party N/A Thomas Hefti FDP.The Liberals Werner Hösli Swiss People's Party Joachim Eder* FDP.The Liberals Peter Hegglin Christian Democratic People's Party Christian Levrat* Social Democratic Party Beat Vonlanthen Christian Democratic People's Party Pirmin Bischof* Christian Democratic People's Party Roberto Zanetti* Social Democratic Party Anita Fetz* Social Democratic Party N/A Claude Janiak* Social Democratic Party N/A Hannes Germann* Swiss People's Party Thomas Minder* Independent Andrea Caroni FDP.The Liberals N/A Ivo Bischofberger* Christian Democratic People's Party N/A Karin Keller-Sutter* FDP.The Liberals Paul Rechsteiner* Social Democratic Party Stefan Engler* Christian Democratic People's Party Martin Schmid* FDP.The Liberals Pascale Bruderer* Social Democratic Party Philipp Müller FDP.The Liberals Roland Eberle* Swiss People's Party Brigitte Häberli-Koller* Christian Democratic People's Party Fabio Abate* FDP.The Liberals Filippo Lombardi* Christian Democratic People's Party Olivier Français FDP.The Liberals Géraldine Savary* Social Democratic Party Jean-René Fournier* Christian Democratic People's Party Beat Rieder Christian Democratic People's Party Didier Berberat* Social Democratic Party Raphaël Comte* FDP.The Liberals Robert Cramer* Green Party Liliane Maury Pasquier* Social Democratic Party Claude Hêche* Social Democratic Party Anne Seydoux-Christe* Christian Democratic People's Party * indicates a candidate that was re-elected. Source: Statistics Switzerland

Aftermath The 2015 federal election was followed by the 2015 Swiss Federal Council election on 9 December 2015.

Owing to the results of the federal election, Federal Councillor Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf, a member of the Conservative Democratic Party (BDP), announced she would not run for re-election, as the Swiss People's Party (SVP) won a record percentage of the vote, while her own party decreased its share. The SVP was widely expected to fill her seat in the election, and it chose Thomas Aeschi (Zug), Guy Parmelin (Vaud) and Norman Gobbi (Ticino) as candidates for the seat, with Aeschi being the favorite at the time.

Guy Parmelin, of the SVP, was ultimately elected on 9 December. Parmelin, a farmer and winegrower from Bursins in canton Vaud, was the first member of the Federal Council who is also a member of the Swiss People's Party from the French-speaking part of Switzerland.

There was a minor cabinet reshuffle after the election, as newly elected Parmelin was selected to become head of the Federal Department of Defence, Civil Protection and Sports, replacing fellow SVP-member Ueli Maurer, who became head of the Federal Department of Finance. The SVP gained its second seat in the Federal Council, which it had lost in 2008, when the newly created BDP split from the SVP.

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