Cantonal elections - VS Valais State Council complete again after Revaz withdraws

Emmanuel Revaz, the Green Party's candidate in the Valais State Council elections, is withdrawing. He came last in the first round of voting on Sunday. There will therefore be no second ballot.

Keystone-SDA

02.03.2025, 18:42

SDA

In addition to Franziska Biner, a centrist from the Upper Valais who has now stood for election, Christophe Darbellay (center), Mathias Reynard (SP), Franz Ruppen (SVP) and Stéphane Ganzer (FDP) have also been elected following Revaz's withdrawal. This means that there will be no change to the current party-political composition of the cantonal government (2 center, 1 FDP, 1 SVP and 1 SP).

With 51,149 votes, Biner was the only one of the six candidates to exceed the absolute majority of 50,420 votes. With a lead of almost 10,000 votes, the 39-year-old from Upper Valais even clearly overtook her party colleague Darbellay. Darbellay achieved the second-best result with 41,376 votes.

Four years after the resignation of Esther Waeber-Kalbermatten (SP), Biner is the second woman to enter the Valais government. The woman from Upper Valais will replace Roberto Schmidt (social-liberal center), who is retiring and also comes from Upper Valais, in the five-member State Council.

Ganzer will replace FDP councillor Frédéric Favre in the new cantonal government of Valais.

Voter turnout was 45.5 percent compared to 61 percent in 2021.