Grand Council of Bern
![]() | This article needs to be updated.(March 2018) |
Grand Council Grosser Rat (German) Grand conseil (French) | |
---|---|
Type | |
Type | Unicameral |
Leadership | |
President | Jürg Iseli |
Structure | |
Seats | 160 |
![]() | |
Political groups | Government parties (132)
Other parliamentary parties (28) [1] |
Elections | |
Party-list proportional representation Hagenbach-Bischoff system | |
Last election | 2018 |
Meeting place | |
![]() | |
Rathaus | |
Website | |
https://www.gr.be.ch/ |
The Grand Council (German: Grosser Rat, French: Grand conseil) is the parliament of the Swiss canton of Bern.
It consists of 160 members (as of 2006) elected by proportional representation for a four-year term of office. The French-speaking part of the canton, the Bernese Jura (districts of Courtelary, La Neuveville and Moutier) has 12 seats guaranteed, and 3 seats are guaranteed for the French-speaking minority of the bilingual district of Biel/Bienne.
Election[]
The council is re-elected every four years. Like other legislatures in Switzerland, elections use party list proportional representation. There are nine constituencies, based on the districts of the Canton.
![]() Districts of the canton of Bern |
Constituency | Boundaries | Seats |
---|---|---|
Biel-Bienne - Seeland | Districts of Biel/Bienne and Seeland | 26 |
Mittelland North | North Part of Bern-Mittelland | 22 |
Bern | City of Bern | 20 |
Mittelland-South | South Part of Bern-Mittelland | 20 |
Thun | District of Thun | 17 |
Oberland | Oberland region (contains three districts) | 16 |
Emmental | District of Emmental | 15 |
Bernese Jura | District of Jura Bernois | 12 |
Oberaargau | District of Oberaargau | 12 |
Composition[]
The last election was held on 27 March 2010, and resulted in a victory for the Swiss People's Party (SVP). However, whilst they maintained their plurality position, the main gainers were the Conservative Democratic Party, who gained eight seats on their pre-election position, having split from the SVP since the 2006 election. The Social Democratic Party and FDP.The Liberals both lost considerable ground.
Party | Ideology | Vote % | Vote % ± | Seats | Seats ± | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Swiss People's Party | National conservatism | 26.62 | –0.80 | 44 | –3 | |
Social Democratic Party | Social democracy | 18.86 | –5.17 | 35 | –7 | |
Conservative Democratic Party | Conservatism | 16.03 | N/A | 25 | N/A | |
FDP.The Liberals | Classical liberalism | 10.34 | –6.04 | 17 | –9 | |
Green Party | Green politics | 10.10 | –2.79 | 16 | –3 | |
Evangelical People's Party of Switzerland | Christian democracy | 5.90 | –1.45 | 10 | –3 | |
Federal Democratic Union of Switzerland | Christian right | 4.40 | –0.38 | 5 | –1 | |
Green Liberal Party | Green liberalism | 4.07 | N/A | 4 | N/A | |
Autonomous Socialist Party of South Jura | Separatism – Social democracy | 1.04 | –0.25 | 3 | ±0 | |
Christian Democratic People's Party | Christian democracy | 1.16 | –0.60 | 1 | ±0 | |
Swiss Democrats | Nationalism | 0.41 | –1.77 | 0 | –1 | |
Entente PDC of Jura South / Liberal Party of Jura | Separatism – Christian democracy – Classical liberalism | 0.24 | –0.10 | 0 | –1 | |
Others | 0.83 | –0.74 | 0 | –1 | ||
Total | 160 | – | ||||
Source: Canton of Berne |
References[]
- Swiss Grand Councils in the Ancien Régime in German, French and Italian in the online Historical Dictionary of Switzerland.
External links[]
All links are in German and French, unless otherwise noted.
- Official website of the Grand Council of Bern
- German-language Wikipedia article on the Grand Council of Bern
- Websites for the 2002 and 2006 Grand Council elections
- Cantonal legislatures of Switzerland
- Politics of the canton of Bern
- Unicameral legislatures
- Legislature stubs