2013 Liechtenstein general election

General elections were held in Liechtenstein on 3 February 2013, using a proportional representation system.[1] Four parties contested the elections; the centre-right Patriotic Union (VU) and Progressive Citizens' Party (FBP), centre-left Free List (FL) and newly created populist alliance The Independents (DU).

2013 Liechtenstein general election

3 February 2013
All 25 seats of the Landtag. 13 seats needed for a majority
First party Second party   Leader Adrian Hasler Thomas Zwiefelhofer Party FBP VU Leader since 2013 2013 Last election 11 seats, 43.5% 13 seats, 47.6% Seats won 10 8 Seat change 1 5 Popular vote 77,644 65,118 Percentage 40.0% 33.5% Swing 3.5pp 14.1pp   Third party Fourth party   DU FL Leader Harry Quaderer Derya Kesci & Pepo Frick Party DU FL Leader since 2013 2013 Last election New 1 seat, 8.9% Seats won 4 3 Seat change New 2 Popular vote 29,739 21,604 Percentage 15.3% 11.1% Swing 15.3pp 2.2pp
Popular vote and seat totals by constituency. As this is a PR election, seat totals are determined by popular vote in each constituency.
Prime Minister before election Klaus Tschütscher VU Elected Prime Minister Adrian Hasler FBP

Background

The previous elections in 2009 were won by the Patriotic Union which managed to secure an absolute majority of the seats (13 out of 25). Despite winning a parliamentary majority, the Patriotic Union chose to form a coalition with the conservative Progressive Citizens' Party, which won 11 seats. The Free List won a single seat and became the opposition party.

Prime Minister Klaus Tschuetscher's term in office was marked by an effort to move the country away from being a tax haven. Prior to the election Tschuetscher, who is a member of the Patriotic Union (VU) party, declared he would not be seeking the premiership for a second term.[2]

Electoral system

The 25 members of the Landtag were elected by open list proportional representation from two constituencies, Oberland with 15 seats and Unterland with 10 seats. Only parties and lists with more than 8% of the votes cast in each constituency were eligible to win seats in the Landtag.[3]

The constituency of Unterland consists of the municipalities of Eschen, Gamprin, Mauren, Ruggell and Schellenberg. The other constituency, Oberland, consists of the municipalities of Balzers, Planken, Schaan, Triesen, Triesenberg and Vaduz.

Opinion polls

On 28 January 2013, the newspaper Liechtensteiner Vaterland published a poll in which they asked their readers, "Which party conducted the best election campaign?" About 10,000 people responded, and the results of the poll were as follows:[4]

Party	%
Patriotic Union	44.8
Progressive Citizens' Party	40.5
Free List	7.9
The Independents	6.9

Results

 Summary of the 3 February 2013 Landtag of Liechtenstein election results

Party		Votes	%	+/–	Seats	+/–
	Progressive Citizens' Party	77,644	40.0	–3.5	10	–1
	Patriotic Union	65,118	33.5	–14.1	8	–5
	The Independents	29,739	15.3	+15.3	4	+4
	Free List	21,604	11.1	+2.2	3	+2
Invalid/blank votes		679	—	—	—	—
Total		15,363	100	—	25	0
Registered voters/turnout		19,251	79.8	—	—	—
Source: Office for Information and Communication of the Government

Popular vote FBP   40.0% VU   33.5% DU   15.3% FL   11.1%

Parliamentary seats FBP   40.0% VU   32.0% DU   16.0% FL   12.0%

This was the first election in Liechtenstein in which four different political groups have won seats in the Landtag.[5] The success of The Independents was considered by observers to be a result of protest votes against austerity measures in the country.[5][6] It was also postulated that greater diversity in the Landtag was a result of a decreased partisanship of voters.[7]

Patriotic Union members expressed their disappointment at the result.[8] The VU suffered a large defeat, losing more than a third of its seats. The Progressive Citizens' Party lost one seat.[5]

References

1. "Office for Information and Communication of the Government". Retrieved 4 February 2013.
2. Burmeister, Thomas (1 February 2013). "Cleaner but poorer, Liechtenstein goes to the polls". Europe online magazine. Retrieved 4 February 2013.
3. Article 55 (1) of the Volksrechtegesetz (Law of People's Rights) Gesetze.li
4. Beste Beurteilung für Wahlkampf der VU Liechtensteiner Vaterland, 28 January 2013
5. "New Independent party rattles Liechtenstein vote". Global Post. 3 February 2013. Retrieved 21 July 2016.
6. "Politics in tiny Liechtenstein shaken up by surprise election success of independents". Fox News. 3 February 2013. Retrieved 21 July 2016.
7. "Mehrheit der Stimmzettel wurden angepasst". Vaterland. 4 February 2013. Retrieved 4 February 2013.
8. "VU: Amann-Marxer und Rick zum Wahlausgang". Volksblott. 4 February 2013. Retrieved 4 February 2013.