Politics · Switzerland · 1 day ago
Three candidates win seats in Fribourg government in first round
Voters in the Swiss canton of Fribourg elected three candidates to its seven-member State Council in the first round on Sunday.
The winners were incumbent FDP members Romain Collaud and Didier Castella, and Centre party candidate Marie-France Roth Pasquier.
The canton’s government is facing a major change because three sitting members did not seek re-election, while other candidates are still competing for the remaining seats.
No other candidate won the absolute majority needed to be elected in the first round.
The result gave the centre-right alliance an early advantage, while no candidate from the left-green alliance was elected yet.
The four remaining seats will be decided in a second round scheduled for 29 November, and both alliances will try to mobilise their supporters.
Romain Collaud, Didier Castella and Marie-France Roth Pasquier won seats on Fribourg’s State Council in the first round of voting.
All three exceeded the absolute-majority threshold, while no other candidate did.
The winners are two incumbent members of the FDP and a new candidate from The Centre party.
Four seats remain to be decided in a second round.
The second round is scheduled for 29 November, according to Watson.
- Who
- Romain Collaud, Didier Castella and Marie-France Roth Pasquier won seats.
- What
- They were elected to Fribourg’s State Council in the first round.
- When
- Sunday, 8 November 2026.
- Where
- The canton of Fribourg, Switzerland.
- Why
- They each exceeded the absolute-majority threshold; the sources do not state a further reason for their election.
The bourgeois alliance
The left-green alliance
Seats won in first round
The bourgeois alliance
Three candidates were elected.
The left-green alliance
No candidate was elected.
Second round
The bourgeois alliance
The alliance aims to elect five of its representatives to the State Council.
The left-green alliance
The left-green parties plan to mobilize their supporters for the next round.
Voters in Fribourg chose three State Council members in the first round.
A second round is scheduled to decide the four remaining seats, according to Watson.
- Romain Collaud
- 44,217 votes
- Didier Castella
- 43,789 votes
- Marie-France Roth Pasquier
- 41,977 votes
- Absolute-majority threshold
- 39,554 votes
- Seats still to be decided
- 4
- Voter turnout
- 36.09%
2 sources
What people are saying
I did not expect it and am very grateful. But the work is not finished.
The list achieved a good result. But we must remain humble, because two more bourgeois candidates must win election before we can speak of success.
The right-wing bloc was a steamroller.
I am somewhat disappointed that it was not enough. What matters to me is that all five bourgeois candidates are at the front.