# 1851 Swiss federal election

Federal elections were held in Switzerland on 26 October 1851. The Radical Left remained the largest group in the National Council, winning 78 of the 120 seats.

## Electoral system

The elections were held under the Federal law concerning the elections to the National Council, which had been passed on 21 December 1850. The 120 members of the National Council were elected in 49 single- and multi-member constituencies; there was one seat for every 20,000 citizens, with seats allocated to cantons in proportion to their population. The 1850 law reduced the number of constituencies from 52, but increased the number of seats from 111; Aargau, Glarus, Lucerne, Neuchâtel, Vaud and Zürich gained one seat each, whilst Bern gained three seats. The law also set the election date as the last Sunday in October and introduced a three-year term.
The elections were held using a three-round system; candidates had to receive a majority in the first or second round to be elected; if it went to a third round, only a plurality was required. Voters could cast as many votes as there were seats in their constituency. In six cantons (Appenzell Innerrhoden, Appenzell Ausserrhoden, Glarus, Nidwalden, Obwalden and Uri), National Council members were elected by the Landsgemeinde.

## Results
### National Council

| | Radical Left | | 53.1 | 78 | –1 |
| | Catholic Right | | 15.5 | 16 | +6 |
| | Liberal Centre | | 13.6 | 16 | +5 |
| | Evangelical Right | | 13.5 | 7 | +2 |
| | Democratic Left | | 4.1 | 3 | –3 |
| | Independents | | 0.2 | 0 | New |
| Total | Total | | | 120 | +9 |
| Total votes | Total votes | 276,997 | – | | |
| Registered voters/turnout | Registered voters/turnout | 517,020 | 53.58 | | |
| Source: BFS ||||||

#### By constituency

| Constituency | Seats | Party | Seats won | Elected members |
| Zürich 1 | 4 | Radical Left | 4 | Jonas Furrer Alfred Escher Jakob Dubs Georg Joseph Sidler |
| Zürich 2 | 3 | Radical Left | 3 | Hermann Stadtmann Benjamin Brändli Karl Adolf Huber |
| Zürich 3 | 3 | Radical Left | 3 | Rudolf Wäffler Hans Heinrich Zangger Heinrich Rüegg |
| Zürich 4 | 3 | Radical Left | 2 | Rudolf Benz Johann Jakob Ryffel |
| Zürich 4 | 3 | Evangelical Right | 1 | Paul Carl Eduard Ziegler |
| Bern 5 | 4 | Radical Left | 4 | Albert Lohner Jakob Karlen Albrecht Weyermann Jakob Imobersteg |
| Bern 6 | 4 | Evangelical Right | 3 | Eduard Blösch Friedrich Fueter Bendicht Straub |
| Bern 6 | 4 | Liberal Centre | 1 | Ulrich Ochsenbein |
| Bern 7 | 4 | Radical Left | 4 | Johann Ulrich Lehmann Johann Ulrich Gfeller Johannes Bach Karl Karrer |
| Bern 8 | 4 | Radical Left | 4 | Johann Bützberger Johann Rudolf Vogel Johann Rudolf Schneider Johannes Hubler |
| Bern 9 | 3 | Radical Left | 3 | Jakob Stämpfli Johann August Weingart Xavier Stockmar |
| Bern 10 | 4 | Catholic Right | 3 | Charles Moreau Xavier Elsässer Pierre-Ignace Aubry |
| Bern 10 | 4 | Evangelical Right | 1 | Auguste Moschard |
| Lucerne 11 | 2 | Radical Left | 1 | Jakob Robert Steiger |
| Lucerne 11 | 2 | Liberal Centre | 1 | Jakob Kopp |
| Lucerne 12 | 2 | Catholic Right | 2 | Philipp Anton von Segesser Alois Kopp |
| Lucerne 13 | 3 | Radical Left | 3 | Josef Sigmund Bühler Casimir Pfyffer Anton Schnyder |
| Uri 14 | 1 | Catholic Right | 1 | Florian Lusser |
| Schwyz 15 | 2 | Liberal Centre | 1 | Franz Karl Schuler |
| Schwyz 15 | 2 | Catholic Right | 1 | Johann Anton Steinegger |
| Obwalden 16 | 1 | Catholic Right | 1 | Franz Wirz |
| Nidwalden 17 | 1 | Catholic Right | 1 | Franz Durrer |
| Glarus 18 | 2 | Radical Left | 1 | Caspar Jenny |
| Glarus 18 | 2 | Liberal Centre | 1 | Johannes Trümpy |
| Zug 19 | 1 | Catholic Right | 1 | Silvan Schwerzmann |
| Fribourg 20 | 3 | Radical Left | 3 | Nicolas Glasson Julien Schaller Henri-Benjamin Presset |
| Fribourg 21 | 2 | Radical Left | 2 | J.-F.-M. Bussard Léon Pittet |
| Solothurn 22 | 3 | Radical Left | 3 | Johann Jakob Trog Josef Munzinger Niklaus Pfluger |
| Basel-Stadt 23 | 1 | Liberal Centre | 1 | Achilles Bischoff |
| Basel-Landschaft 24 | 2 | Radical Left | 1 | Stephan Gutzwiller |
| Basel-Landschaft 24 | 2 | Democratic Left | 1 | Johannes Mesmer |
| Schaffhausen 25 | 2 | Radical Left | 2 | Friedrich Peyer im Hof Johann Georg Fuog |
| Appenzell Ausserrhoden 26 | 2 | Radical Left | 2 | Johann Jakob Sutter Johann Heinrich Tanner |
| Appenzell Innerhoden 27 | 1 | Catholic Right | 1 | Johann Nepomuk Hautle |
| St. Gallen 28 | 2 | Radical Left | 2 | Joseph Marzell Hoffmann Wilhelm Matthias Naeff |
| St. Gallen 29 | 2 | Radical Left | 2 | Christian Rohrer Josef Leonhard Bernold |
| St. Gallen 30 | 2 | Radical Left | 2 | Abraham Raschle Benedikt Schubiger |
| St. Gallen 31 | 2 | Liberal Centre | 1 | Johann Georg Anderegg |
| St. Gallen 31 | 2 | Radical Left | 1 | Johann Matthias Hungerbühler |
| Grisons 32 | 1 | Evangelical Right | 1 | Johann Baptista Bavier |
| Grisons 33 | 1 | Liberal Centre | 1 | Andreas Rudolf von Planta |
| Grisons 34 | 1 | Radical Left | 1 | Georg Michel |
| Grisons 35 | 1 | Liberal Centre | 1 | Johann Bartholome Arpagaus |
| Aargau 36 | 3 | Radical Left | 2 | Friedrich Frey-Herosé Samuel Friedrich Siegfried |
| Aargau 36 | 3 | Liberal Centre | 1 | Adolf Fischer |
| Aargau 37 | 4 | Radical Left | 3 | Johann Peter Bruggisser Samuel Schwarz Franz Waller |
| Aargau 37 | 4 | Liberal Centre | 1 | Friedrich Schmid |
| Aargau 38 | 3 | Catholic Right | 3 | Udalrich Schaufelbühl Gregor Lützelschwab Karl Ludwig Baldinger |
| Thurgau 39 | 4 | Radical Left | 4 | Johann Konrad Kern Johann Georg Kreis Eduard Häberlin Johann Ludwig Sulzberger |
| Ticino 40 | 3 | Radical Left | 3 | Agostino Demarchi Benigno Soldini Giacomo Luvini |
| Ticino 41 | 3 | Radical Left | 2 | Giovanni Battista Pioda Stefano Franscini |
| Ticino 41 | 3 | Liberal Centre | 1 | Rocco Bonzanigo |
| Vaud 42 | 4 | Liberal Centre | 2 | Édouard Dapples Auguste de Loës |
| Vaud 42 | 4 | Radical Left | 2 | Louis Wenger Louis Blanchenay |
| Vaud 43 | 3 | Radical Left | 2 | Henri Druey Justin Bornand |
| Vaud 43 | 3 | Liberal Centre | 1 | Emmanuel-D. Bourgeois |
| Vaud 44 | 3 | Liberal Centre | 1 | Charles Bontems |
| Vaud 44 | 3 | Radical Left | 1 | Vincent Kehrwand |
| Vaud 44 | 3 | Democratic Left | 1 | François Thury |
| Valais 45 | 1 | Catholic Right | 1 | Alexis Allet |
| Valais 46 | 1 | Catholic Right | 1 | Antoine de Riedmatten |
| Valais 47 | 2 | Radical Left | 2 | Maurice Barman Adrien-Félix Pottier |
| Neuchâtel 48 | 4 | Radical Left | 4 | Fritz Courvoisier Frédéric Lambelet Hugues Thomas Auguste Rougemont |
| Geneva 49 | 3 | Radical Left | 3 | Philippe Camperio Abraham Louis Tourte Alexandre-Félix Alméras |
| Source: Gruner ||||||

### Council of States

| Party | Party | Seats | +/– |
| | Radical Left | 17 | –13 |
| | Liberal Centre | 14 | +6 |
| | Catholic Right | 10 | +4 |
| | Evangelical Right | 2 | +2 |
| | Democratic Left | 0 | 0 |
| | Independents | 1 | New |
| Total | Total | 44 | 0 |
| Source: Federal Assembly ||||