Chamber:
	Nationalrat - Conseil national - Consiglio nazionale
Dates of elections / renewal (from/to):
	22 October 1995
Purpose of elections:
	Elections were held for all the seats in the National Council on the normal expiry of the members' term of office.
Background and outcome of elections:
	At stake in the 1995 parliamentary elections were the 200 National Council seats and 39 of 46 in the Council of States. Altogether 2846 candidates were in the running for the former. Campaign debate focused above all on Switzerland's relationship to the European Union (EU), with divergent views on this issue even among members of the four-party governing coalition comprising the Radical Democratic Party (FDP/PRD), the Social Democratic Party (SP/PS), the Christian Democratic People's Party (CVP/PDC) and the Swiss People's Party (SVP/UDC). The last group, whose main voice was Mr. Christoph Blocher, opposed Swiss participation in the EU and the European Economic Area (EEA), considering them a threat to the country's wealth and traditional neutrality in politics; it also favoured drastic spending cuts to balance the national budget. The Social Democrats, on the other hand, strongly supported European integration and moreover pledged to protect Switzerland's social spending programs. Despite this prominent issue, voters failed to be galvanised and turned out at a meagre rate of just over 42%. Paradoxically, both the leftist SP/PS and the conservative SVP/UDC improved their positions, with the former overtaking the centrist FDP/PRD as the largest party in the National Council with 54 seats. The centre-right ruling alliance as a whole gained 15 seats at the expense of smaller parties and particularly the environmentalist Greens, thus arriving at 162. It also improved its overall position in the Council of States once runoffs were held for 12 seats in November. In both Councils, more seats went to women. Given this polling outcome - which, analysts predicted, would lead to further polarisation within the seven-member Cabinet and heated debate about EU entry - the "magic formula" coalition in effect since 1959 continues in power.

STATISTICS

Round no 1 (22 October 1995): Elections results
Number of registered electors	4,593,802
Voters	1,940,611 (42.2%)
Blank or invalid ballot papers	35,281
Valid votes	1,905,330

Round no 1: Distribution of votes
Political Group	%
Social-Democratic Party (SP/PS)	21.8
Radical-Democratic Party (FDP/PRD)	20.2
Christian-Democratic People's Party (CVP/PDC)	17
Swiss People's Party (SVP/UDC)	14.9
Green Party (GPS/PES)	5
Freedom Party (FPS/AP)	4
Liberal Party (LPS/PLS)	2.7
Swiss Democrats (SD/DS)	3.1
Independent Alliance (LdU/AdI)	1.8
Labour Party (PdA/PST)	1.2
Evangelical People's Party (EVP/PEP)	1.8
Others	6.5

Round no 1: Distribution of seats
Political Group	Total	Gain/Loss
Social-Democratic Party (SP/PS)	54	+12
Radical-Democratic Party (FDP/PRD)	45	+1
Christian-Democratic People's Party (CVP/PDC)	34	-2
Swiss People's Party (SVP/UDC)	29	+4
Green Party (GPS/PES)	9	-5
Freedom Party (FPS/AP)	7	-1
Liberal Party (LPS/PLS)	7	-3
Swiss Democrats (SD/DS)	3	-2
Independent Alliance (LdU/AdI)	3	-3
Labour Party (PdA/PST)	3	+1
Evangelical People's Party (EVP/PEP)	2	-1
Others	4	-2

Distribution of seats according to sex:
Men:	158
Women:	42

Distribution of seats according to age:
21 - 30 years	1
31 - 40 years	15
41 -50 years	80
51 -60 years	88
61 -70 years	16
Distribution of seats according to profession:
Lawyers, notaries	36
Teachers	29
Businessmen	22
Farmers	20
Association officials	12
Journalists	11
Public officials, civil servants	11
Engineers, architects	10
State councillors (incl. retired)	10
Economists	8
Doctors, pharmacists	7
Others	24