Federal Elections 2015 – Confederation, Parliament and Cantons launch joint website
Bern, 22.10.2014 - For the first time, the Federal Chancellery, the Parliamentary Services, the Federal Statistical Office and ch.ch have joined together on www.ch.ch/en/Elections2015 to provide information, instructions, interesting facts and useful links on the elections to the National Council and Council of States, which are being held on 18 October 2015. The aim is to stimulate interest and increase the turnout in the elections.
The website www.ch.ch/en/Elections2015 is kept constantly up-to-date, and is aimed not only at voters but also at candidates standing for parliament and at other interested parties. With their first joint internet presence, the Federal Chancellery, the Parliamentary Services, the Federal Statistical Office and ch.ch, the Swiss portal for the Confederation, cantons and communes, are pursuing several goals. They want to stimulate interest in the federal elections and broaden understanding of electoral procedures; the new service is unique in offering access to all the relevant information. The website is politically neutral and not intended to influence voters' political views, avoiding content that aims to shape political opinion.
The elections website comes online today, around a year before the federal elections, and will remain in operation after the elections. The initial phase will provide a summary of the statutory regulations, statistics and results from earlier elections, guidance on electoral procedures and information on the election preparations. This will include precise details of the requirements in the various cantons that candidates for parliament must meet and on the role played by the parties. This information will be complemented by articles on the Federal Assembly, its tasks and composition, and on the 50th election of members of the National Council.
The focus in the second phase is on instructions on how to vote. In addition to the Federal Chancellery's brochure on the elections, which will be published in spring 2015, a multimedia-based guide will be offered on how to cast a valid vote, and on the options open to voters to favour certain candidates while rejecting others, or to support the party of their choice. The special rules in each canton will also be explained.
In the third phase, which includes election day on 18 October 2015 and the period thereafter, the focus will be on the results of the elections to the National Council and Council of States. Statistics and analysis will also be provided.
The cost of the elections website www.ch.ch/en/Elections2015, already approved and budgeted for, will amount to just under CHF 160,000. The site will be financed by the offices involved from their current budgets and therefore does not result in any additional expenditure.
Address for enquiries
Ursula Eggenberger
Federal Chancellery
058 462 37 63
Publisher
Federal Chancellery
https://www.bk.admin.ch/bk/en/home.html
