1The National Council is composed of 200 representatives of the People.
2The representatives are elected directly by the People according to a system of proportional representation. A general election is held every four years.
3Each Canton constitutes an electoral constituency.
4The seats are allocated to the Cantons according to their relative populations. Each Canton has at least one seat.
Art. 149 BV governs the composition and election of the National Council. The National Council consists of 200 members who represent the Swiss people (Art. 149 para. 1 BV). These are not representatives of their cantons, but exercise their office freely and independently (→ Art. 161 para. 1 BV).
The National Councillors are elected every four years by the people directly according to proportional representation (Art. 149 para. 2 BV). This means: Each party receives as many seats as it achieved vote shares. A party with 20 percent of the votes receives approximately 20 percent of the seats.
Each canton forms its own constituency (Art. 149 para. 3 BV). In Zurich, therefore, only Zurich candidates are elected, in Bern only Bern candidates. The 200 seats are distributed among the cantons according to population (Art. 149 para. 4 BV). Large cantons like Zurich therefore receive more seats than small cantons like Uri. However, each canton has at least one seat guaranteed.
A concrete example: The Canton of Zurich has about 1.5 million inhabitants and therefore receives 35 National Council seats. The Canton of Uri has only 36,000 inhabitants, but retains its one guaranteed seat. The proportional system ensures that both large and small parties are represented in parliament, according to their strength among the people.
The system combines democratic representation with federalist principles: The people directly elect their representatives, but cantonal boundaries remain as constituencies. Thus both the democratic principle and the federalist structure of Switzerland are respected.
No. 1 The introduction of the proportional system for National Council elections was adopted by popular vote on 13 October 1918, after the people had rejected three earlier initiatives (Thurnherr, BSK BV, Art. 149 No. 1). This historic turning point ended the majoritarian electoral system that had been in place since 1848 and led to a fundamental transformation of the political landscape.
No. 2 The 1999 constitutional revision adopted the existing regulation materially unchanged (BBl 1997 I 1, 370). The constitutional legislator deliberately refrained from a new regulation of controversial issues such as the relevant population figure for seat allocation or constituency division.
No. 3 Art. 149 BV stands in the systematic context of the provisions on the Federal Assembly (Title 5, Chapter 1). The norm is closely linked with:
→ Art. 150 BV (Council of States) as the second parliamentary chamber
→ Art. 34 BV (political rights) as a general electoral rights guarantee
↔ Art. 8 para. 1 BV (legal equality) regarding equality of voting power
→ Art. 136 BV (political rights) with respect to eligibility
No. 4 As lex specialis, Art. 149 BV takes precedence over the general electoral rights guarantee of Art. 34 BV (Judgment 1C_322/2015 of 19.8.2015 consideration 3.3). This is particularly significant for assessing proportional fairness and cantonal constituency division.
No. 5 The 200 National Councillors are "representatives of the people", not representatives of their cantons (Thurnherr, BSK BV, Art. 149 No. 4). This characterisation fundamentally distinguishes the National Council from the Council of States and establishes the free mandate without obligation to follow instructions.
No. 6 The determination of 200 seats was made in 1962 (AS 1963 847). This number represents a compromise between adequate representation and the working capacity of parliament.
Proportional System (para. 2)
No. 7 The "principle of proportional representation" requires seat allocation according to the vote shares of the parties. The Federal Act on Political Rights specifies this through the Hagenbach-Bischoff procedure (Thurnherr, BSK BV, Art. 149 No. 10; BGE 129 I 185 consideration 7.1.1).
No. 8 The "direct election" excludes electoral colleges and guarantees direct legitimacy by the electorate. The four-year legislative period with complete renewal ensures periodic democratic accountability (Thurnherr, BSK BV, Art. 149 No. 16).
Constituencies (para. 3)
No. 9 The designation of cantons as constituencies is a deliberate federalist decision (Thurnherr, BSK BV, Art. 149 No. 19). This historically developed division enjoys high legitimacy (Judgment 1C_322/2015 of 19.8.2015 consideration 4.3).
No. 10 The cantonal constituency division leads to considerable differences in proportional fairness. In small cantons with few seats, equality of success value is structurally limited (Garrone, L'élection populaire en Suisse, 182 ff.).
Seat Distribution (para. 4)
No. 11 The "population figure" as the distribution key is not conclusively defined. The Federal Council takes the position that the permanent resident population including foreigners should be decisive, as they pay "customs duties and taxes like the Swiss" (cited in Thurnherr, BSK BV, Art. 149 No. 56).
No. 12 The guarantee of at least one seat per canton privileges small cantons and breaks through the pure proportional principle in favour of federalist consideration (Thurnherr, BSK BV, Art. 149 No. 23).
The subjective right to participate in National Council elections under the proportional system
The entitlement of cantons to at least one National Council seat
The obligation to conduct complete renewal elections every four years
The prohibition of constituency changes without constitutional revision
No. 14 The constitutional norm has direct effect and requires specification by the Federal Act on Political Rights (SR 161.1) only in technical details.
Judgment 1C_322/2015 of 19.8.2015 E. 3.2
Appeal against the announcement of the National Council election in the Canton of Zug; constitutional conformity of the seat allocation procedure.
The judgment confirms the constitutional basis of the National Council electoral system under Art. 149 BV.
«National Council elections are regulated in the Federal Constitution and in the Federal Act on Political Rights. According to Art. 149 para. 2 BV, the members of the National Council are determined by the people in direct election according to the principle of proportional representation, with a complete renewal taking place every four years. Each canton forms an electoral district (Art. 149 para. 3 BV), and the seats are distributed to the cantons according to population size, with each canton being entitled to at least one seat (Art. 149 para. 4 BV).»
Judgment 1C_322/2015 of 19.8.2015 E. 3.3
Procedure-specific interpretation of Art. 149 BV in relation to Art. 34 BV.
The Federal Court holds that Art. 149 BV stands as lex specialis in relation to the general electoral rights guarantee.
«The electoral system provided for in the Federal Act may not meet the Federal Court's requirements for an electoral system in cantonal and municipal proportional elections according to Art. 34 BV. The question arises whether the current electoral procedure of simple proportional representation is not already bindingly predetermined in Art. 149 BV and whether this constitutional provision takes precedence over Art. 34 BV as lex specialis.»
#Interpretation in Conformity with International Law
Judgment 1C_322/2015 of 19.8.2015 E. 4.3
Compatibility of the National Council electoral system with Art. 25 UN Covenant II.
The federal structure of the electoral district division according to cantons is considered justified under international law.
«The Federal Constitution expressly establishes in Art. 149 para. 3 BV the traditionally federally determined cantonal territories as electoral districts. This division dates back to the introduction of the proportional electoral system for National Council elections in the popular vote of 13 October 1918, thus has a pronounced historical as well as federal reference and accordingly has high legitimacy.»
BGE 138 II 5 of 1.1.2011 E. 2.2
Entitlement to recount in National Council electoral procedure.
The Federal Court specifies the specific requirements for National Council elections under proportional procedure.
«Federal legislation regulates the election of the National Council under proportional procedure exhaustively; in particular, the question of whether and when a recount is to be carried out is regulated in Art. 11 VPR. The practice established with BGE 136 II 132 for votes is not applicable in this area.»
BGE 138 II 5 of 1.1.2011 E. 2.3
Particularities of the National Council electoral procedure compared to federal votes.
The case law underlines the special legislative regulation of National Council elections.
«The case law established in BGE 136 II 132, according to which a very close result in a federal popular vote constitutes an 'irregularity' within the meaning of Art. 77 para. 1 lit. b BPR and grants entitlement to a recount, is not applicable to the election of the National Council under proportional procedure (Art. 77 para. 1 lit. c BPR), because the procedure is characterized by urgency and is regulated in detail by the BPR.»
BGE 129 I 185 of 18.12.2002 E. 7.1.1
Foundations of the seat allocation procedure according to Hagenbach-Bischoff.
The judgment confirms the legislative design of the proportional principle anchored in Art. 149 BV.
«The law essentially establishes seat allocation according to the Hagenbach-Bischoff distribution system (particularly according to Art. 40 ff. BPR).»