Who decides in Switzerland?
Parliament makes the laws, the Federal Council carries them out, and in popular votes the people have the last word. Here is who sits where today.
As of 4 October 2026
Parliament: two chambers
Parliament is called the Federal Assembly. It has two chambers with equal power: the National Council and the Council of States. A law only passes if both agree. Elections are held every four years, most recently in October 2023.
Members form parliamentary groups; small parties join a larger one. Ordered by seats in the National Council.
National Council: 200 seats
The National Council represents the population. Cantons get seats by population: Zurich has 36, six small cantons have one each. A majority needs 101 votes.
- SVPSVP 62 · EDU 2 · MCG 2 · Lega 167
- SP41
- Centre-EVPCentre 29 · EVP 231
- FDPFDP 26 · LDP 127
- GreensGreens 22 · AL 123
- GLP11
Council of States: 46 seats
The Council of States represents the cantons. Every canton has two seats and the six half cantons one each, however many people live there. A majority needs 24 votes.
- SVPSVP 6 · MCG 17
- SP7
- Centre-EVP15
- FDP12
- Greens3
- GLP1
- No group1
Federal Council: seven members
The Federal Council is the government. Parliament elects its seven members. Each heads a department, a kind of ministry, but they decide together. The large parties share the seats roughly by their strength (concordance).
Seats by party: SVP 2 · SP 2 · Centre 1 · FDP 2
- Guy ParmelinSVP, Vaud · in the Federal Council since 2016Department of Economic Affairs, Education and Research (EAER)
- Ignazio CassisFDP, Ticino · in the Federal Council since 2017Department of Foreign Affairs (FDFA)
- Karin Keller-SutterFDP, St. Gallen · in the Federal Council since 2019Department of Finance (FDF)
- Albert RöstiSVP, Bern · in the Federal Council since 2023Department of the Environment, Transport, Energy and Communications (DETEC)
- Elisabeth Baume-SchneiderSP, Jura · in the Federal Council since 2023Department of Home Affairs (FDHA)
- Beat JansSP, Basel-Stadt · in the Federal Council since 2024Department of Justice and Police (FDJP)
- Martin PfisterCentre, Zug · in the Federal Council since 2025Department of Defence, Civil Protection and Sport (DDPS)
Guy Parmelin is President of the Confederation in 2026. The office changes every year; it chairs the meetings but gives no extra power.
Elections since 1971
Parties' share of the vote in National Council elections.
In 2021 the CVP and BDP merged to form The Centre. The Centre's line shows the CVP up to 2019. Smaller parties such as the EVP, BDP, LPS and LdU are in the table. Source: FSO, National Council elections (party strength and members elected).
Share of the vote in % (seats) by election
| Year | SVP | SP | Centre | FDP | Greens | GLP | EVP | CVP | BDP | LPS | LdU | Others |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1971 | 11.1 (23) | 22.9 (46) | – | 21.8 (49) | – | – | 2.2 (3) | 20.3 (44) | – | 2.2 (6) | 7.6 (13) | 11.9 (16) |
| 1975 | 9.9 (21) | 24.9 (55) | – | 22.2 (47) | 0.1 (0) | – | 2.0 (3) | 21.1 (46) | – | 2.5 (6) | 6.1 (11) | 11.3 (11) |
| 1979 | 11.6 (23) | 24.4 (51) | – | 24.0 (51) | 0.6 (1) | – | 2.2 (3) | 21.3 (44) | – | 2.8 (8) | 4.1 (8) | 8.9 (11) |
| 1983 | 11.1 (23) | 22.8 (47) | – | 23.3 (54) | 1.9 (3) | – | 2.1 (3) | 20.2 (42) | – | 2.8 (8) | 4.0 (8) | 11.7 (12) |
| 1987 | 11.0 (25) | 18.4 (41) | – | 22.9 (51) | 4.9 (9) | – | 1.9 (3) | 19.6 (42) | – | 2.7 (9) | 4.2 (8) | 14.3 (12) |
| 1991 | 11.9 (25) | 18.5 (41) | – | 21.0 (44) | 6.1 (14) | – | 1.9 (3) | 18.0 (35) | – | 3.0 (10) | 2.8 (5) | 16.8 (23) |
| 1995 | 14.9 (29) | 21.8 (54) | – | 20.2 (45) | 5.0 (8) | – | 1.8 (2) | 16.8 (34) | – | 2.7 (7) | 1.8 (3) | 15.0 (18) |
| 1999 | 22.5 (44) | 22.5 (51) | – | 19.9 (43) | 5.0 (8) | – | 1.8 (3) | 15.9 (35) | – | 2.3 (6) | 0.7 (1) | 9.4 (9) |
| 2003 | 26.7 (55) | 23.3 (52) | – | 17.3 (36) | 7.4 (13) | – | 2.3 (3) | 14.4 (28) | – | 2.2 (4) | – | 6.4 (9) |
| 2007 | 28.9 (62) | 19.6 (43) | – | 15.8 (31) | 9.6 (20) | 1.4 (3) | 2.4 (2) | 14.5 (31) | – | 1.9 (4) | – | 6.0 (4) |
| 2011 | 26.6 (54) | 18.7 (46) | – | 15.1 (30) | 8.4 (15) | 5.4 (12) | 2.0 (2) | 12.3 (28) | 5.4 (9) | – | – | 6.1 (4) |
| 2015 | 29.4 (65) | 18.8 (43) | – | 16.4 (33) | 7.1 (11) | 4.6 (7) | 1.9 (2) | 11.7 (27) | 4.1 (7) | – | – | 6.1 (5) |
| 2019 | 25.6 (53) | 16.8 (39) | – | 15.1 (29) | 13.2 (28) | 7.8 (16) | 2.1 (3) | 11.4 (25) | 2.4 (3) | – | – | 5.6 (4) |
| 2023 | 27.9 (62) | 18.3 (41) | 14.1 (29) | 14.3 (28) | 9.8 (23) | 7.6 (10) | 2.0 (2) | – | – | – | – | 6.2 (5) |
And the people?
In popular votes the people decide directly. With 50,000 signatures in 100 days they can demand a vote on a new law (referendum). With 100,000 signatures in 18 months they can propose a change to the Constitution (popular initiative). A change to the Constitution needs a majority of the people and of the cantons.
Go to the votesSources: Parliamentary Services (parlament.ch, open data), Federal Chancellery (admin.ch).