General elections were held in Liechtenstein on 9 February 2025 to elect the 25 members of the Landtag. The Patriotic Union (VU) won a plurality of 10 seats, while the Progressive Citizens' Party (FBP) won seven, the lowest in its history. The Democrats for Liechtenstein (DpL) won six seats, being the highest amount of seats won by a third party in Liechtenstein's history. The Free List (FL) won two seats. The voter turnout was 76.3%.

Incumbent prime minister Daniel Risch did not run for re-election. The VU nominated Brigitte Haas for prime minister, while the FBP nominated Ernst Walch for the position. The DpL nominated Thomas Rehak and Erich Hasler as government candidates. Following the election, the VU and FBP entered into a renewed coalition government. The new government was sworn in on 10 April 2025, ultimately under the leadership of Haas. Haas is the first female prime minister in Liechtenstein's history, and also the oldest.

Background

In the 2021 Liechtenstein general election, the Patriotic Union (VU) and Progressive Citizens' Party (FBP) each won ten seats. As a result, the two parties formed a coalition government, ultimately under Daniel Risch. The Free List and Democrats for Liechtenstein (DpL) won three and two seats in 2021 respectively. A new political party, Mensch im Mittelpunkt, was formed in 2022.

Risch's government was characterized by efforts for increased environmental protection in Liechtenstein and greater international participation. It led Liechtenstein's response to Russian invasion of Ukraine starting in February 2022 and successfully negotiated Liechtenstein joining the International Monetary Fund (IMF), which took place in October 2024.

Electoral system

The 25 members of the Landtag are elected by open list proportional representation from two constituencies, Oberland with 15 seats and Unterland with 10 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. The electoral threshold to win a seat is 8%. Gesetze.li Landtag members sit for a four-year term. Once formed, the Landtag elects the prime minister and four government councillors who govern in a cabinet. Voting is compulsory by law and most is carried out by post. Polling stations are open only for one and a half hours on election day. Citizens over 18 years of age who have been resident in the country for one month prior to election day are eligible to vote.

On 25 February 2024, Liechtenstein voters were asked in a referendum if members of government should be directly elected, a proposal that would have affected the 2025 general election if successful. However, the proposal was rejected by voters.

Campaign

Main parties

On 19 February 2024, Daniel Risch declared his intention to not seek re-election. The VU nominated Brigitte Haas for prime minister, being the second woman nominated for the position, behind Sabine Monauni in 2021. The party also nominated Hubert Büchel and Emanuel Schädler as government candidates. Haas stated that she was "available" for multiple terms if elected. The VU's programme included things such as reducing healthcare costs, economic growth, environmental protection, and expanding infrastructure.

On 13 August 2024, the FBP nominated former President of the Landtag and foreign minister Ernst Walch for prime minister. The party also nominated incumbent deputy prime minister Sabine Monauni and then-party president Daniel Oehry as government candidates. At 68 years old, Walch is the oldest candidate in Liechtenstein's history. Walch's nomination, alongside Alexander Batliner becoming party president the same month, was described by the newspaper Liechtensteiner Vaterland as the "conservative wing taking over again". Walch declared his intention to only serve one term as prime minister should he have been elected. In an interview with 1FLTV, incumbent President of the Landtag, Albert Frick, belonging to the FBP, also announced that he would not be running for re-election. The FBP's programme included things such as reducing deficit spending, a social market economy, reducing healthcare costs, greater school autonomy, and long-term financial security for the Old-age and survivors insurance in Liechtenstein.

According to an October 2024 survey, only 48% of respondents wanted a government that included Walch, being the lowest of any candidate. On 29 January 2025, the German newspaper Die Zeit published an article regarding Walch; in the article, it criticized his activities as a trustee and his actions as foreign minister, highlighting his involvement in numerous scandals from that time, stating that "Liechtenstein's dark past will catch up with it".

In February 2024, the Vaterland conducted a survey which suggested that only 25% of respondents would support another coalition government between the VU and FBP. The FBP declared that it was open to the formation of a coalition should it have won the election; Haas also stated that she was open to a formation of a coalition with the FBP, but was sceptical of other parties.

Opposition parties

The Democrats for Liechtenstein nominated Thomas Rehak and Erich Hasler for government positions on 16 December 2024, being the first time the party presented government candidates since its formation in 2018. They said that they were open to a coalition with other parties. During campaigning, Rehak suggested the possibility of a three-party coalition, stating that the DpL "had a right to a seat in government". According to polling, the party was predicted to receive a significantly increased share of the vote compared to 2021, perhaps as high as 20%. The party's programme included things such as free public transport for the young and elderly, restricting the status of refugees from Ukraine, additional requirements for naturalization in Liechtenstein, reduced bureaucracy in healthcare and tax cuts.

The Free List presented its Landtag candidates on 15 and 29 November 2024. The party did not present any government candidates, but it also stated that it did not rule out participation in government. The party's programme included things such as family medicine, affordable housing, and environmental protection being included as a fundamental right in the constitution. Mensch Im Mittelpunkt renounced any candidates in December 2024.

Procedure Election campaigning is largely unregulated and carried out via social media, newspapers and broadcast media. All parties are permitted to post an official campaign video on the websites of the main newspapers in the country. The elections are the second to be carried out under the 2019 Law on Payment of Contributions to Political Parties, which limited public funding to registered political parties, banned large anonymous donations and required the publication of accounts by parties.

Opinion polls +SourceDateVUFBPFLDpLDUMiMOtherDemoscope 16 December 202434%33%12%16%——1%Demoscope22 October 202431%31%9%17%——1%Demoscope20 June 202425%23%14%23%———Vaterland13 July 202314.70%16.19%5.17%41.46%0.71%14.75%7.02%

Candidates Candidates have the same eligibility criteria as voters. Political parties must have the support of 30 voters from a constituency to be eligible to nominate a candidate list in it. The date for presenting Landtag candidates was set for 6 December 2024. A total of 69 candidates were presented for the election; 48 men and 21 women. + scope="colgroup" rowspan="2" FBPVUFLDpLOberland Daniel Brunhart Martin Rechsteiner Sascha Quaderer Bettina Petzold-Mähr Sebastian Gassner Bruno Beck Judith Hoop Nadine Vogelsang Florin Konrad Oliver Gerstgrasser Daniel Seger Manfred Bischof Lorenz Risch Daniel Salzgeber Kilian Büchel Daniela Ospelt Roland Moser Thomas Keller Thomas Hagmann Marc Risch Christoph Wenaweser Roger Schädler Renate Feger Dagmar Bühler-Nigsch Thomas Vogt Norma Heidegger Markus Gstöhl Manfred Kaufmann Carmen Heeb-Kindle Andreas Good Benjamin Risch Manuela Haldner-Schierscher Samuel Schurte Stefan Sprenger Tatjana As'Ad Gustav Kaufmann Isabella Fischer Oliver Indra Marion Kindle-Kühnis Thomas Rehak Martin Seger Achim VogtUnterland Fabian Haltinner Franziska Hoop Nico Büchel Karin Zech-Hoop Lino Nägele Iwan Schurte Sieglinde Kieber Andreas Haber Johannes Kaiser Helmut Hasler Mario Wohlwend Markus Schaper Tanja Cissé Elias Jehle Johannes Zimmermann Yannick Ritter Stefan Öhri Thöny-Gritsch Tatjana Ketz Dietmar Hasler Patrick Risch Sandra Fausch Valentin Ritter Brigit Elkuch Erich Hasler Manuela Hasler Simon SchächleSource: Landtagswahlen 2025

Results

The VU received 38.3% of the vote, a 2.7% increase from their 2021 performance, and maintained its ten seats in the Landtag. The FBP received 27.5% of the vote, an 8.4% decrease from 2021, and won seven seats, a decrease of three. It is the lowest result in the FBP's history. The DpL saw its vote share rise 11.1% to 23.3% from 2021 and won six seats, an increase of four, the highest of any third party in Liechtenstein's history. The Free List received 10.9% of the vote, a decrease of 2% from 2021, and won two seats, a decrease of one.

A total of 16,171 ballots were cast, resulting in a 76.3% voter turnout. The majority of votes (97%) were cast by post.

By electoral district The elected 25 members of the Landtag consisted of 17 men and 8 women, the latter being the highest amount in Liechtenstein's history. The oldest member elected was Erich Hasler of the DpL at 68 years old, and the youngest was Lino Nägele of the FBP at 30. + Electoral district Seats Electorate Party Elected members Subsititutes Votes % Swing Seats won +/–Oberland1513,137Patriotic Union58,72539.2 2.360Progressive Citizens' Party38,35225.6 9.14 2Democrats for Liechtenstein35,69523.814.24 3Free List16,92811.3 2.41 1Unterland107,247Patriotic Union20,75336.0 2.340Progressive Citizens' Party18,63132.3 6.63 1Democrats for Liechtenstein12,67522.0 6.92 1Free List5,6219.7 1.010Source: Landtagswahlen 2025

Votes by candidate