Green parties make history in Swiss elections

GENEVA

The green parties in Switzerland have performed well in the parliamentary elections of Sunday, according to the initial reports by a research institution.

The GfS Bern projected that the Green Party (GP) increased its votes to 13%, achieving its greatest success, 6% more than the 2015 elections.

Green Liberal Party’s (GLP) votes are expected to hit 7.6%, the GLP drew 4.6% of the votes in 2015 elections.

The country’s anti-immigration Swiss People’s Party (SVP), on the other hand, suffered 3.8% votes in the election but remained as the leading party. SVP drew 29.4% in the previous elections.

Social democrats are expected to come second in the elections with 18.8% of the votes.

Lukas Golder, an official of the GfS Bern, viewed the green parties’ success as a surprise that surpassed the expectations.

Around 5.4 million voters hit the ballot boxes to elect 200-member National Council and 46-member Council of States.

*Writing by Ali Murat Alhas