Council of States (Switzerland)
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Council of States Ständerat (German) Conseil des États (French) Consiglio degli Stati (Italian) Cussegl dals Stadis (Romansh) |
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| Type | |
| Type | |
| Leadership | |
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First Vice President
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Second Vice President
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| Structure | |
| Seats | 46 |
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Political groups
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Government parties (43) |
| Elections | |
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Last election
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18 October 2015 |
| Meeting place | |
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| Federal Palace of Switzerland, Bern | |
| Website | |
| http://www.parliament.ch/ | |
Government parties (43)
Other parliamentary parties (3)
The Council of States (German: Ständerat, French: Conseil des États, Italian: Consiglio degli Stati, Romansh: Cussegl dals Stadis) is the smaller chamber of the Federal Assembly of Switzerland, and is considered the Assembly's upper house, with the National Council being the lower house. There are 46 Councillors.
Twenty of the country's cantons are represented by two Councillors each. Six cantons, traditionally called "half cantons", are represented by one Councillor each for historical reasons. These are Obwalden, Nidwalden, Basel-Stadt, Basel-Landschaft, Appenzell Ausserrhoden and Appenzell Innerrhoden.
The Councillors serve for four years, and are not bound in their vote to instructions from the cantonal authorities.
Under the Swiss Federal Constitution, the mode of election to the Council of States is left to the cantons, the proviso being that it must be a democratic method. All cantons now provide for the Councillors to be chosen by popular election (historically it was typically the cantons' parliaments that elected representatives to Bern), however those eligible to vote varies according to the applicable cantonal law (notable variances are that foreigners may vote in Neuchâtel, and the minimum voting age is 16 in Glarus).
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Wikipedia