State Councillor SVP nominates Jean-François Thuillard to replace Rebecca Ruiz
The SVP is sending Jean-François Thuillard into the race for the by-election to the Vaud cantonal government on March 8. The farmer is currently the mayor of Froideville and a member of the cantonal parliament.
28.11.2025, 01:09
SDA
Thuillard was nominated on Thursday evening by the Vaud SVP congress in Chavannes-le-Chêne in the north of the canton. "Mr. Thuillard was unanimously elected as a candidate by a round of applause," said Sylvain Freymond, President of the Vaud SVP and National Councillor, when asked by the Keystone-SDA news agency. Thuillard was the only candidate.
The SVP had announced on Wednesday that it would present a candidate immediately after the Social Democrat Rebecca Ruiz announced her resignation. The 60-year-old farmer from Gros-de-Vaud has been a member of the Grand Council since 2012 and chaired the parliament in the 2024/25 term of office.
In addition to his involvement in the cantonal parliament and a short term as Vice-President of the Vaud SVP (2013-2015), Thuillard has long been active in Froideville. He joined the municipal council in 1985, moved to the executive in 2002 and became mayor in 2016. A big fan of Lausanne Hockey Club, he unsuccessfully ran for the National Council several times.
Will it be an SVP-SP duel?
With Thuillard's nomination, the Vaud SVP is hoping for a return to the cantonal government, of which it has not been a member since the death of Jean-Claude Mermoud in 2011. Previous attempts have been unsuccessful, most recently those of Michaël Buffat in the 2022 elections and Pascal Dessauges in the 2019 by-election - at the time against Rebecca Ruiz.
It remains to be seen whether Thuillard will also receive the support of the Vaud alliance of the SVP, FDP and Center Party. On Thursday evening in L'Isle (VD), the FDP delegates decided "by a very large majority" to support Thuillard's candidacy, as the party announced. The Centre Party had already signaled that it would not necessarily put forward its own candidate.
Of the other parties, the Social Democrats want to defend Rebecca Ruiz's seat and will present their own candidacy. The Greens have already declared that they will support the SP and not submit their own candidacy. Other parties have not yet declared any interest in the seat.
