, Conseil
des Etats (in French), Consiglio degli Stati (in Italian) (46 seats;
membership consists of 2 representatives from each canton and 1 from
each half canton; to serve four-year terms) and the National Council
or Nationalrat (in German), Conseil National (in French), Consiglio
Nazionale (in Italian) (200 seats; members are elected by popular
vote on the basis of proportional representation to serve four-year
terms)
elections: Council of States - last held in most cantons on 19
October 2003 (each canton determines when the next election will be
held); National Council - last held on 21 October 2007 (next to be
held in October 2011)
election results: Council of States - percent of vote by party - NA;
seats by party - CVP 15, FDP 14, SVP 8, SPS 6, other 3; National
Council - percent of vote by party - SVP 29%, SPS 19.5%, FDP 15.6%,
CVP 14.6%, Greens 9.6%, other 11.7%; seats by party - SVP 62, SPS
43, FDP 31, CVP 31, Green Party 20, other small parties 13; note -
seating for the Council of States as of December 2007 is CVP 16, FDP
12, SVP 7, SPS 9, other 2

Judicial branch:

Federal Supreme Court (judges elected for six-year terms by the
Federal Assembly)

Political parties and leaders:

Green Party (Gruene Partei der Schweiz or Gruene, Parti Ecologiste
Suisse or Les Verts, Partito Ecologista Svizzero or I Verdi, Partida
Ecologica Svizra or La Verda) [Ruth GENNER]; Christian Democratic
People's Party (Christlichdemokratische Volkspartei der Schweiz or
CVP, Parti Democrate-Chretien Suisse or PDC, Partito
Democratico-Cristiano Popolare Svizzero or PDC, Partida
Cristiandemocratica dalla Svizra or PCD) [Christophe DARBELLAY];
Radical Free Democratic Party (Freisinnig-Demokratische Partei der
Schweiz or FDP, Parti Radical-Democratique Suisse or PRD, Partitio
Liberal-Radicale Svizzero or PLR) [Fulvio PELLI]; Social Democratic
Party (Sozialdemokratische Partei der Schweiz or SPS, Parti
Socialist Suisse or PSS, Partito Socialista Svizzero or PSS, Partida
Socialdemocratica de la Svizra or PSS) [Hans-Juerg FEHR]; Swiss
People's Party (Schweizerische Volkspartei or SVP, Union
Democratique du Centre or UDC, Unione Democratica de Centro or UDC,
Uniun Democratica dal Center or UDC) [Ueli MAURER]; and other minor
parties

Political pressure groups and leaders:

NA

International organization participation:

ADB (nonregional members), AfDB (nonregional members), Australia
Group, BIS, CE, CERN, EAPC, EBRD, EFTA