Cantonal elections NE Fiercely contested election for Neuchâtel government seats expected
Neuchâtel voters will elect a new government and parliament this Sunday. The united left with the SP, Greens and the Labor Party will attempt to regain the majority in the State Council lost to the FDP in 2021.
23.03.2025, 04:30
SDA
The FDP is countering with a first-time alliance with the SVP and the center. A hard-fought election between the two blocs is expected.
In the last elections in 2021, the Liberals won an absolute majority of three seats in the five-member Neuchâtel government. The SP, which had held three out of five government seats since 2013, lost one seat.
Four of the incumbents are running again: Frédéric Mairy and Florence Nater from the SP, and the two Liberal Democrats Crystel Graf and Laurent Favre. Alain Ribaux (FDP) is not standing for election.
A total of 19 candidates are running for a seat on the State Council, including seven women. The second round of this major election is scheduled for April 13.
SVP in a promising position
One of the most likely scenarios is that the right-wing party defends its three seats, but the SVP's Thierry Brechbühler, municipal councillor of La Chaux-de-Fonds, enters the government together with the incumbents Graf and Favre from the FDP.
Thanks to the alliance with the SVP and the center, the FDP seems to have come to terms with the fact that it will no longer have three seats in the State Council.
Three favorites on the left
Another conceivable scenario is that the left wins three seats. In this case, the two incumbents from the SP, Florence Nater and Frédéric Mairy, as well as Céline Vara, member of the Council of States for the Greens, would be the favorites.
The Green Liberals (GLP), who want to play a key role between the two blocs, have very little chance of election, as do the other seven candidates from other parties.
Tough battle for parliamentary seats
The left is also hoping for a majority in the Grand Council, where elections are based on the proportional representation system. A total of 487 people are running for one of the 100 seats.
In the current parliament, the FDP has over 32 seats, the SP 21, the Greens 19, the Labor Party, the SVP and the Green Liberals (GLP) 8 each and the center 4. On the right, the SVP could win seats at the expense of the weakening FDP.
The center parties in parliament could lose ground. On the left, it remains to be seen whether the SP can continue its upward trend and whether the Greens and the Labor Party can retain or increase their seats.
