have Swiss citizenship
have reached 18 years of age by the day of the election (22 October 2023)
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
Candidate list
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.
Required signatures and seats
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)
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)
From candidate list to electoral list
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.
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.
be made in writing
be signed by the candidate
state the candidate’s first name and surname, any name or surname the candidate is known by in political or other activities, sex, date of birth, address including post code, place of origin including canton, party affiliation
state the office being run for
state whether the candidate already holds the office (incumbent)
be made by 4 September 2023 at 12 noon
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.
The competent authority in your canton of residence can provide further information.
You can also contact your chosen political party for information on the required procedure if you decide to stand for election.