Political quake Federal Court dismisses Schaffhausen Council of States

The Federal Supreme Court has annulled the election of Schaffhausen SP politician Simon Stocker to the Council of States. According to the ruling, Stocker was not resident in the canton of Schaffhausen at the time of the election.

The Federal Supreme Court has upheld a corresponding appeal against a decision by the High Court, as can be seen from the ruling published on Wednesday. The Schaffhausen cantonal council and the high court had previously rejected the appeal.

Unlike the lower courts, the Supreme Court came to the conclusion that Stocker's center of life and therefore also his political residence was in the city of Zurich at the time of the election. Stocker was already registered in the city of Schaffhausen and had rented an apartment there. However, he lived and worked primarily in Zurich, where his wife and child also lived.

The cantonal constitution requires a residence in Schaffhausen for election to the Council of States. A person's place of residence is where the center of their life is located.

Election not revoked retroactively

Stocker's election to the Council of States will only be revoked "for reasons of proportionality, legal certainty and trust" with effect from the Federal Supreme Court's ruling, the statement continued.

Neither the Federal Supreme Court nor the lower courts had granted the appeal suspensive effect. The decisions in which Stocker participated as a member of the Council of States are therefore neither null and void nor contestable.

Schaffhausen must vote again

The Schaffhausen cantonal council must now hold a new election. Contrary to the appellant's request, Thomas Minder (non-party), who received the second most votes, will not automatically succeed him. In the absence of cantonal legislation in this specific case, the principle applies according to which by-elections are normally held for retiring members.

The new election for the second seat in the Schaffhausen Council of States will take place on June 29. According to the press release, scheduling the election on this date will allow the newly elected member of the Council of States to take part in the fall session starting on September 8. This means that the second seat in the Council of States in Schaffhausen will only be vacant in the 2025 summer session. A possible second round of voting would be held on August 24, 2025.

Simon Stocker had surprisingly prevailed in the second round of the election in the fall of 2023 against former Councillor of States Thomas Minder. Two people lodged a voting rights appeal against the election decision, including the current appellant. The latter wrote several letters to the editor in favor of Minder during the election campaign

Stocker comes forward: "I'm standing for election"

Stocker made a statement on social media shortly after the verdict was announced. The 43-year-old wrote on Instagram:

"Dear Schaffhausen residents, dear supporters
Today is a difficult day for me: the Federal Supreme Court has annulled my election to the Schaffhausen Council of States on November 19, 2023.Plain and simple: court rulings must be accepted. This is a central principle of our constitutional state and it is important to abide by it, especially in this day and age. But it's still painful for me: at its core, the ruling is also a rejection of an equal family model.

My wife and I have set it up this way and we live well with it. We're proud of it, even though our private life has been a matter of public debate over the last year and a half. We have never made a secret of it and have found a pragmatic solution to organize our lives, which take place professionally in different places in Switzerland, on an equal footing. The fact that the Federal Supreme Court now considers our way of life to be incompatible with political office and that this has now cost me my election is disappointing and saddens us.

What does the ruling mean and what happens next? One thing is clear: I am no longer a member of the Council of States. And new elections are now needed. My experience and my work in Bern encourage me to say without hesitation: I am standing for election again and I am convinced that, together with all of you, I will succeed in winning this seat again.2023 I was able to win the election thanks to a very broad coalition. I have felt this support not only during the election campaign, but also repeatedly in recent years. That drives me to go full throttle now. I am looking ahead and into the future. Planning for the election campaign starts today. I will keep you up to date and thank you very much for your support."