Legislative Branch
Switzerland has a bicameral parliament called the Federal Assembly, made up of:
- the Council of States (46 seats - members serve four-year terms) and
- the National Council (members are elected by popular vote on a basis of proportional representation to serve four-year terms)
The previous elections (before those held in 2007, below) to the National Council were held in 2003, see elections of 2003 for more details. The four parties that hold seats in the Federal Council dominate both chambers of the Assembly; they currently hold a supermajority of 171 seats (out of 200) on the National Council, plus every seat in the Council of States except for 3.
Most hearings in the parliament are open to everyone, including foreigners.
Read more about this topic: Politics Of Switzerland
Famous quotes containing the words legislative and/or branch:
“Let reverence for the laws, be breathed by every American mother, to the lisping babe, that prattles on her lap—let it be taught in schools, in seminaries, and in colleges;Mlet it be written in Primers, spelling books, and in Almanacs;Mlet it be preached from the pulpit, proclaimed in legislative halls, and enforced in courts of justice.”
—Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865)
“In communist society, where nobody has one exclusive sphere of activity but each can become accomplished in any branch he wishes, society regulates the general production and thus makes it possible for me to do one thing today and another tomorrow, to hunt in the morning, fish in the afternoon, rear cattle in the evening, criticize after dinner, just as I have a mind, without ever becoming hunter, fisherman, shepherd or critic.”
—Karl Marx (1818–1883)