Facts
The Federal Court decision deals with a constitutional complaint against the order of the President of the Central Electoral Office of the City of Zurich regarding the municipal council elections of March 3, 2002. The complainants allege that the electoral district boundaries of the City of Zurich violate political rights and the principle of equality.
The Federal Court takes up the complaint insofar as it is directed against the decision of the Cantonal Government Council of April 3, 2002, which protected the order of the President of the Central Electoral Office of September 7, 2001 and the confirmation decision of March 6, 2002. The complainants are entitled to file a complaint about the right to vote as enfranchised citizens of the City of Zurich.
The complainants demand the annulment of the municipal council elections of March 3, 2002 and the reordering of the elections based on a revised electoral district boundaries. They argue that the current electoral district boundaries lead to a disproportionate restriction of the free will of the voters and the equality of the weight of the votes.
Considerations
The Federal Court initially adheres to its previous case law, according to which in complaints about the right to vote, not only the interpretation of federal law and cantonal constitutional law, but also that of other cantonal provisions that define the content of the right to vote or are closely related to it, are freely reviewed.
The Federal Court finds that the electoral district boundaries of the City of Zurich for the municipal council elections violate the principle of electoral freedom enshrined in Art. 34 Para. 2 FC and the principle of equality of Art. 8 Para. 1 FC. The differences in the size of the electoral districts and the resulting deviations from the average number of votes required for a mandate are no longer compatible with the principle of equal treatment.
In particular, in electoral district 1 with only two mandates, the electoral district boundaries lead to over a…