Anyone who has the right to vote in Switzerland also has the right to stand for election to the National Council.
This means you can generally run if you:
have Swiss citizenship
have reached 18 years of age by the day of the election (22 October 2023)
Some people do not have the right to vote due to disability. The Federal Act on Political Rights details the applicable conditions.
In certain circumstances, the Federal Constitution and federal legislation forbid candidates from holding two offices or functions simultaneously, in order to avoid conflicts of interest. If a candidate in this situation wins their election, they must give up one of the two roles or functions.
For example, candidates cannot join parliament if they are:
members of the Federal Council elected by the Federal Assembly (e.g. the Federal Chancellor or judges of the Federal Supreme Court)
members of the armed forces command
staff federal administration staff members Parliamentary Services staff members staff members of the federal courts staff members of the Office of the Attorney General of Switzerland
You can find a complete list of incompatibilities on the Parliament website.
In order to stand for election to the National Council, you must follow a procedure that varies slightly among cantons.
In the cantons of ZH, BE, LU, SZ, ZG, FR, SO, BS, BL, SH, SG, GR, AG, TG, TI, VD, VS, NE, GE and JU you must follow the steps below:
One or more candidates constitute a ‹candidate list›.
Every candidate list must have a name that uniquely identifies it.
Each candidate may stand for election in only one canton and appear on only one candidate list.
A candidate may appear a maximum of two times on one candidate list.
Candidates must give their official name and surname, any name or surname they are commonly known by or known by politically, sex, date of birth, profession, address (including postcode), place of origin (including canton).
Candidates must state in writing that they agree to stand for election. If they do not do so, their name will be removed.
The candidate list cannot contain more names than there are seats to be allocated. Candidate lists with too many candidates will have the appropriate number removed starting with the last entry.
Finished candidate lists require a certain minimum number of handwritten signatures, which are to be provided by voters.
The following minimum number of signatures apply:
100 in cantons with 2 to 10 seats (LU, SZ, ZG, FR, SO, BS, BL, SH, GR, TG, TI, VS, NE, JU)
200 in cantons with 11 to 20 seats (SG, AG, VD, GE)
400 in cantons with more than 20 seats (ZH, BE)
Voters may not sign more than one list, nor may they withdraw their signature after the candidate list has been filed with the Canton.
Exceptions
Candidate lists affiliated with a political party do not require a minimum number of supporter signatures if they meet one of the following conditions:
The party was duly registered in the Federal Council’s register of political parties at the end of the year preceding the election The party is represented in the National Council for the same canton in the legislature that is about to end, or the party obtained at least 3% of the votes in that canton in the previous National Council election
(not available in English)
In such cases, the political party must only deposit the valid signatures of all candidates and of the party’s cantonal chair and management.
At this point candidates must file their candidate list with their Canton.
It is important that candidates observe the Canton’s deadlines for submitting candidate lists.
Candidate lists that are definitively validated by the canton are known as electoral lists and numbered for easier identification.
The Canton then sends the electoral lists to the Federal Chancellery.
The candidacies are now official.
Obwalden
One candidate constitutes a ‹candidate list›.
Every candidate list must be supported by at least five persons residing in the canton who have the right to vote.
Every candidate must confirm in writing that they intend to participate in the election. If this confirmation is missing, the candidate’s name will be removed.
Candidate lists must be presented to the Cantonal Chancellery.
In cases where only one candidate has been submitted, the Cantonal Chancellery will declare that candidate to be elected (tacit election).
The Canton can provide further information and details on candidacy procedures.
Nidwalden
One candidate constitutes a ‹candidate list›.
Every candidate list must be supported by at least five persons residing in the canton who have the right to vote.
Candidate lists must be presented to the Cantonal Voting Office no later than 48 days before the election (4 September 2023 in the case of the upcoming election), at 12 noon.
In cases where only one candidate has been submitted by the deadline, the Cantonal Chancellery will declare that candidate to be elected (tacit election).
The Canton can provide further information and details on candidacy procedures.
These cantons do not have any special procedure to be followed by candidates. All citizens with the right to vote in Switzerland may become candidates and voters may select anyone who has the right to vote.
The Federal Council circular to the cantonal governments concerning the ordinary general election to the National Council of 22 October 2023 (not available in English) sets out in detail the relevant rules and conditions to stand for election to the National Council.
You can also contact your chosen political party for information on the required procedure if you decide to stand for election.