At the last election,
in 2007, the
Swiss People's Party (SVP) won the highest share of the vote ever recorded for a single party in Switzerland, with 29% of the vote. Soon after, a moderate faction split from the SVP, forming the
Conservative Democratic Party (BDP). In the 2011 election, the two neophyte parties BDP and
Green Liberal Party (GLP) were successful, each receiving 5.4% of the popular vote. Both the GLP and the BDP have gained the required five seats to form their own
parliamentary groups, suggesting a split of the centrist
CVP/EVP/glp group. All other major parties lost votes, the
Swiss People's Party (SVP) for the first time since the
1987 elections. With 26.6% of the popular vote, the SVP is still the strongest party by a comfortable margin, but the 2011 elections marked the end of its rapid growth during the period of 1995–2007. Of the small parties (below 5 seats), the
Evangelical People's Party received 2.0% of the vote (+0.4%), retaining its two seats. The
Ticino League received 0.8% of the vote (+0.2%) and gains one seat, now holding two. The
Christian Social Party lost one seat, but gained another to remain in the National Council, while the
Federal Democratic Union of Switzerland and
Swiss Party of Labour lost their single seats. Other minor groups which gathered more than 0.1% of the popular vote are: the
Swiss Pirate Party (0.48%), the
Swiss Democrats (0.20%),
parteifrei.ch (0.19%) and
Tierpartei Schweiz (0.15%).
By constituency ==Council of States==