Federal elections were held in Switzerland on 26 October 1890. The Radical Left narrowly retained its majority in the National Council.[1]
The 147 members of the National Council were elected in 52 single- and multi-member constituencies using a three-round voting system of the Exhaustive ballot or a multiple-winner variant thereof. To be elected, in the first or second round a candidate or candidates had to receive a vote from a majority of the voters. If not all the seats were filled in the first or second round, it went to a third round. Again the least-popular candidate was eliminated but now only a plurality was required to determine the winner(s).
Voters could cast as many votes as there were seats in their constituency. There was one seat for every 20,000 citizens, with seats allocated to cantons based on that ratio.[2]
The elections were held under the new Federal law concerning the elections of National Council members passed on 20 June 1890. Following the 1888 census (which had been brought forward from 1890 in order to redraw the constituencies prior to the elections) the number of seats was increased from 145 to 147, whilst the number of constituencies was increased from 49 to 52; Basel-Stadt, St. Gallen and Zürich all gained one seat, whilst Ticino lost a seat.
Voter turnout was highest in Schaffhausen (where voting was compulsory) at 94.3% and lowest in Schwyz at 35.6%.
| Constituency | Seats | Party | Seatswon | Elected members | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Zürich 1 | 6 | Liberal Centre | 3 | |||
| Democratic Group | 2 | |||||
| Social Democratic Party | 1 | Jakob Vogelsanger | ||||
| Zürich 2 | 4 | Liberal Centre | 3 | |||
| Democratic Group | 1 | Johann Jakob Keller | ||||
| Zürich 3 | 4 | Democratic Group | 4 | |||
| Zürich 4 | 3 | Democratic Group | 2 | |||
| Liberal Centre | 1 | Heinrich Steinemann | ||||
| Bern 5 | 5 | Radical Left | 5 | |||
| Bern 6 | 5 | Radical Left | 5 | |||
| Bern 7 | 4 | Radical Left | 4 | |||
| Bern 8 | 4 | Radical Left | 2 | |||
| Bern People's Party | 1 | Ulrich Burkhalter | ||||
| Liberal Centre | 1 | Jakob Adolf Roth | ||||
| Bern 9 | 4 | Radical Left | 4 | |||
| Bern 10 | 3 | Radical Left | 3 | |||
| Bern 11 | 2 | Catholic Right | 1 | Joseph Choquard | ||
| Radical Left | 1 | Henri Cuenat | ||||
| Lucerne 12 | 2 | Radical Left | 2 | |||
| Lucerne 13 | 3 | Catholic Right | 3 | |||
| Lucerne 14 | 2 | Catholic Right | 2 | |||
| Uri 15 | 1 | Catholic Right | 1 | Franz Schmid | ||
| Schwyz 16 | 3 | Catholic Right | 3 | |||
| Obwalden 17 | 1 | Catholic Right | 1 | Peter Anton Ming | ||
| Nidwalden 18 | 1 | Catholic Right | 1 | Hans von Matt Sr. | ||
| Glarus 19 | 2 | Democratic Group | 1 | Kaspar Schindler | ||
| Liberal Centre | 1 | Rudolf Gallati | ||||
| Zug 20 | 1 | Catholic Right | 1 | Franz Hediger | ||
| Fribourg 21 | 2 | Radical Left | 1 | Friedrich Abraham Stock | ||
| Catholic Right | 1 | Georges Python | ||||
| Fribourg 22 | 2 | Catholic Right | 2 | |||
| Fribourg 23 | 2 | Catholic Right | 2 | |||
| Solothurn 24 | 4 | Radical Left | 3 | |||
| Liberal Centre | 1 | Bernard Hammer | ||||
| Basel-Stadt 25 | 4 | Radical Left | 3 | |||
| Liberal Centre | 1 | Paul Speiser | ||||
| Basel-Landschaft 26 | 3 | Radical Left | 3 | |||
| Schaffhausen 27 | 2 | Democratic Group | 1 | Wilhelm Joos | ||
| Radical Left | 1 | Robert Grieshaber | ||||
| Appenzell Ausserrhoden 28 | 3 | Liberal Centre | 2 | |||
| Radical Left | 1 | Johann Conrad Sonderegger | ||||
| Appenzell Innerhoden 29 | 1 | Catholic Right | 1 | J. B. E. Dähler | ||
| St. Gallen 30 | 2 | Radical Left | 1 | Johannes Blumer | ||
| Democratic Group | 1 | J. A. Scherrer-Füllemann | ||||
| St. Gallen 31 | 2 | Catholic Right | 1 | Johann Gebhard Lutz | ||
| Evangelical Right | 1 | Christoph Tobler | ||||
| St. Gallen 32 | 2 | Catholic Right | 2 | |||
| St. Gallen 33 | 3 | Radical Left | 2 | |||
| Democratic Group | 1 | Eduard Steiger | ||||
| St. Gallen 34 | 2 | Catholic Right | 2 | |||
| Grisons 35 | 2 | Liberal Centre | 1 | Peter Theophil Bühler | ||
| Democratic Group | 1 | Matthäus Risch | ||||
| Grisons 36 | 2 | Catholic Right | 2 | |||
| Grisons 37 | 1 | Radical Left | 1 | Andrea Bezzola | ||
| Aargau 38 | 3 | Radical Left | 3 | |||
| Aargau 39 | 3 | Radical Left | 3 | |||
| Aargau 40 | 1 | Catholic Right | 1 | Robert Weissenbach | ||
| Aargau 41 | 3 | Liberal Centre | 3 | |||
| Thurgau 42 | 5 | Radical Left | 4 | |||
| Liberal Centre | 1 | Jakob Huldreich Bachmann | ||||
| Ticino 43 | 2 | Radical Left | 2 | |||
| Ticino 44 | 4 | Catholic Right | 4 | |||
| Vaud 45 | 5 | Radical Left | 5 | |||
| Vaud 46 | 4 | Radical Left | 4 | |||
| Vaud 47 | 3 | Radical Left | 3 | |||
| Valais 48 | 2 | Catholic Right | 2 | |||
| Valais 49 | 1 | Catholic Right | 1 | Joseph Kuntschen Sr. | ||
| Valais 50 | 2 | Radical Left | 1 | Émile Gaillard | ||
| Catholic Right | 1 | Charles de Werra | ||||
| Neuchâtel 51 | 5 | Radical Left | 5 | |||
| Geneva 52 | 5 | Liberal Centre | 3 | |||
| Radical Left | 2 | |||||
| Source: Gruner[3] | ||||||