In short: SP stable at 30%, Greens and GLP each grew from 6 to 12%, SVP from 13 to 12% after peaking at 19%, FDP and CVP/Mitte stagnating.

How are party votes distributed in the city of Zurich’s council elections since 1990?

Context
The city council (parliament, 125 seats) is elected by proportional representation. Voters can select candidates from different party lists (vote splitting) and list the same candidate twice (cumulation). Party vote shares result from the candidate votes attributed to each party – they are not a direct expression of individual party preferences, but a system outcome. The chart shows seven parties individually, from left to right: AL, SP, Greens, GLP, CVP/Mitte, FDP, SVP. "Others" includes EVP, LdU, and smaller parties.

Decade averages smooth out individual election years.1

Vote Shares in Council Elections – City of Zurich
Average per decade, normalised to 100%. Parties from left to right.
1990s
SP 31
6
7
FDP 19
SVP 13
9
2000s
SP 34
10
7
FDP 16
SVP 19
2010s
6
SP 30
G 11
GLP 10
5
FDP 16
SVP 17
2020s
6
SP 30
G 12
GLP 12
5
FDP 18
SVP 12
AL SP Greens GLP CVP/Mitte FDP SVP Others
Average vote share per decade, normalised to 100%. Labels = rounded percentages. Source: Open Data City of Zurich.

The SP holds the largest individual share across all four decades (30–34%). The Greens doubled from 6 to 12%. The AL grew from 2.5 to 6.3%. The GLP (since 2006) is stable at 10–12%.1

The SVP peaked in the 2000s at 18.5% – its highest level in the city. Since then, it has fallen to 12.0% in the 2020s. The FDP oscillates between 15 and 19%, while CVP/Mitte halved from 7.4 to 4.8%.

DecadeALSPGreensGLPCVP/MitteFDPSVPOthers
1990s2.5%31.1%6.0%–7.4%18.9%13.3%9.3%
2000s3.5%34.1%9.8%1.3%7.0%15.5%18.5%3.9%
2010s5.9%30.4%11.1%10.2%4.7%15.5%16.8%2.9%
2020s6.3%30.2%12.4%12.3%4.8%18.0%12.0%2.2%

Turnout in council elections fluctuates considerably:2

DecadeAvg. Turnout
1990s48.1%
2000s40.9%
2010s41.9%
2020s46.6%

2006 was the low point at 33.7%, 2026 the highest since the 1990s at 50.4%. Who turns out to vote changes – and with it, what the vote shares represent.

City government elections (Stadtrat, 9 seats) follow a different system: majoritarian, i.e. individual candidate elections. Name recognition, incumbency advantage, and list alliances play a larger role than pure party strength. The vote shares shown above come exclusively from council elections (proportional representation).

Open Questions
Unlike referendum results, election outcomes are not a directly comparable indicator of political preferences. Party votes are influenced by turnout, the range of parties, vote splitting (Panaschieren/Kumulieren), and the electoral system. Time comparisons are therefore only partially interpretable. Each decade includes 2–3 elections; the GLP has only existed since 2006.

  1. Open Data City of Zurich – Council Elections, Party Strength since 1913. Own analysis: average city-wide vote shares per decade. 1990s = 1990, 1994, 1998; 2000s = 2002, 2006; 2010s = 2010, 2014, 2018; 2020s = 2022, 2026. Parties shown individually. BGB/SVP = SVP; CVP/Die Mitte = CVP/Mitte; Others = EVP, LdU, and smaller parties. GLP only from 2006. ↩︎ ↩︎

  2. Open Data City of Zurich – Council Elections, Turnout since 1892. Own analysis: average turnout per decade. ↩︎