1 Foundations and Organization, Public Charges » 14 Authorities and Administration » 140 General Provisions (TPG)

This Act governs

a) the obligations of parties, political groups, campaign committees, lobby organizations, and other organizations (parties and other organizations) to disclose the financing of their election and voting campaigns in ballots falling within the jurisdiction of the Canton, districts, and municipalities;

b) the obligations to disclose the interests of persons who are candidates for and are elected to a public office in the Canton, districts, or municipalities; and

c) the control of these disclosure obligations and the sanctions for their violation.

II. Disclosure of Financing

Scope of Application

1 The duty to disclose the financing of their election and voting campaigns applies to all political parties and other organizations that participate in popular elections and ballot votes falling within the jurisdiction of cantons, districts, and municipalities.

2 Financing includes financial contributions and in-kind benefits from natural and legal persons (donations).

3 Anonymous donations or donations received under a pseudonym will be aggregated over a calendar year and may be retained up to an amount of CHF 1000. Any amount exceeding this must be remitted to third parties for charitable purposes.

Financing of Election and Referendum Campaigns

1 Political parties and other organizations are subject to disclosure requirements if the

budgeted or incurred expenditures for a cantonal election or referendum

exceed CHF 10,000, and for an election or referendum in a district or municipality

exceed CHF 5,000.

2 Those subject to disclosure requirements must submit their budget, including planned

expenditures and their financing, before an election or referendum. The budget

must also include

a) The name and place of residence of natural persons who contribute more than

CHF 5,000 to the financing of the respective election or referendum campaign;

b) The name and registered office of legal entities that contribute more than

CHF 1,000 to the financing of the respective election or referendum campaign.

3 If a person donates multiple times to the same political party or other organization

during a calendar year, the donations must be aggregated and disclosed if they

exceed the amounts specified in paragraph 2.

4 After an election or referendum, for expenditures exceeding the minimum amounts

according to paragraph 1, a final account must be submitted detailing the incurred

expenditures and their financing, which must also disclose the actually received

donations as per paragraph 2.

Party Funding

1. Parties and other organizations shall prepare for each year in which they have

participated in an election or vote at cantonal, district, or municipal level, a

list of donations received in addition to those under § 3 (party donations),

including

a) The name and domicile of natural persons and the indication of the respective

contribution, provided that the total amount exceeds CHF 5,000.-- per calendar year;

b) The name and registered office of legal entities and the indication of the

respective contribution, provided that the total amount exceeds CHF 1,000.-- per calendar year.

2. If no party donations exceeding the minimum contributions stated in para. 1

have been received, no list needs to be prepared.

Filing and Review

1 The parties and other organisations must file with the competent authorities

a) the budget for financing an election or referendum campaign up to five weeks before the election or referendum day;

b) the final accounts two months after the election or referendum day;

c) the annual list of party donations by the end of June of the following year.

2 They shall confirm the completeness and accuracy of the information on the submitted documents.

3 The filing and review bodies are

a) the cantonal financial control office for cantonal parties and organisations as well as for cantonal elections and referendums;

b) the competent district or municipal treasury office for municipal parties and organisations as well as for cantonal council elections and other elections and referendums of the districts and municipalities.

Publication

1 After review, information on financing must be published.

2 The budgets for election and ballot campaigns must be published no later than the time the election or ballot documents are dispatched to eligible voters.

III. Disclosure of Interests

Scope of Application

a) Canton

1 In the Canton, the duty to disclose interests applies to the following public offices

a) Cantonal Council and Government Council;

b) Cantonal, Administrative, Criminal, Juvenile, and Coercive Measures Judges;

c) Education Council, Bank Council, and Administrative Commission of the Social

Insurance Institution Schwyz;

d) Commissioner for Public Information and Data Protection and their Deputy;

e) State Secretary;

f) Chief Public Prosecutor and their Deputy.

2 For elections to the Council of States, the duty to disclose interests applies exclusively

to the registration procedure; otherwise, the Federal Act on the Federal Assembly of

December 13, 2002, remains reserved.

b) Districts and Municipalities

1 In districts and municipalities, the disclosure obligation applies to the following public offices

a) District Council and members of the District Parliament;

b) District Judges and Cantonal Judges to be elected by the districts;

c) Municipal Council and members of the Municipal Parliament.

2 The disclosure obligation does not apply if the election takes place at the District Assembly or Municipal Assembly.

Interests and Affiliations

1 The following are to be declared as interests and affiliations

a) professional activities and any employers;

b) activities in management and supervisory bodies, as well as advisory boards and similar bodies of legal communities and legal entities under private and public law;

c) permanent management and advisory functions for interest groups and associations;

d) majority shareholdings in legal entities under private law;

e) political offices at federal, cantonal, district, and municipal levels, as well as offices in the cantonal church and parish communities.

2 Professional secrecy within the meaning of the Criminal Code remains reserved.

Timing of Disclosure

1. The body that orders the election procedure or advertises the office, shall indicate in its election order or advertisement the obligation to disclose conflicts of interest when submitting nominations or when registering for a candidature.

2. Candidates for public office shall disclose their conflicts of interest in writing with their registration for candidature and simultaneously confirm the completeness of their information.

Review and Publication

1 For elections to the Council of States and the Cantonal Government, as well as for elections by the Cantonal Council, the State Chancellery reviews whether all candidates have declared their interests.

2 For elections to the Cantonal Council, for elections to the executive and legislative bodies of districts and municipalities, and for district and cantonal judicial elections, the district or municipal chancellery reviews whether all candidates have declared their interests.

3 The declarations must be published no later than at the time of dispatch of the election documents to the voters or ten days before the election by the Cantonal Council.

**IV. Public Register**

### Jurisdiction

1 Cantons, districts, and municipalities shall maintain public registers for their respective areas of jurisdiction concerning the financing of election and voting campaigns, party donations, and declarations of interest.

2 The registers shall be published on the official website of the respective body. They can also be inspected at the competent cantonal, district, or municipal chancery.

3 The canton may maintain a central electronic register concerning the financing of election and voting campaigns, party donations, and declarations of interest at the cantonal, district, and municipal levels, and shall regulate the responsibilities and financing with the districts and municipalities.

Update

The President of the authority or court ensures the disclosure of the members'

declarations of interest and requests them, at the beginning of a calendar year,

to review their information and report any changes.

Data Protection

1 The processing of personal data in the public register is governed by the Act on the Transparency of Administration and Data Protection of May 23, 2007.

2 The President of the authority or court shall ensure compliance with data protection provisions.

3 Information regarding the conflicts of interest of candidates who were not elected and of office holders who resign shall be deleted immediately. Information regarding the financing of election and voting campaigns and party donations shall be deleted after one year.

V. Criminal and and Final Provisions

Violation of Disclosure Obligations

1 Anyone who, despite a warning, intentionally

a) as a candidate or elected mandate holder, fails to disclose conflicts of interest

in a timely or complete manner;

b) fails to disclose information about the financing of an election or referendum campaign

or party donations in a timely or complete manner,

shall be punished with a fine of up to CHF 10,000.

2 If disclosure obligations are violated with effect for a party or other organisation,

and the natural person responsible for it cannot be identified, the party or other organisation shall be fined, regardless of its legal personality.

3 The bodies of the canton, districts, or municipalities responsible for verifying the information shall conduct the investigation and, in the event of a violation of disclosure obligations, shall request the competent executive to issue a fine order. This may be appealed to the Administrative Court within 20 days.

Amendments to Existing Law

The following enactments are amended as follows

**1. Election and Voting Act (WAG) of 15 October 1970**

**Section 7 para. 1**

1 In principle, any person eligible to vote in the Canton who has been validly nominated is eligible for election as a member of the Council of States, a cantonal authority, or an authority of a district or a municipality.

**Section 19 para. 2 lit. d (new) and para. 3 lit. c (new)**

2 (The publication for elections must contain:)

d) a reference to the duty to disclose the financing and the conflicts of interest pursuant to the Transparency Act of 6 February 2019.

3 (The publication for ballots must contain:)

c) a reference to the duty to disclose the financing pursuant to the Transparency Act of 6 February 2019.

**Section 36 para. 1**

1 In majoritarian elections, a vote can only be validly cast using an official printed or blank ballot paper. Amendments and completion must be done by hand.

**Section 37 para. 1 lit. e**

1 (In all elections, the following are invalid:)

e) ballot papers other than official ones.

Para. 2 is repealed.

Former paras. 3 and 4 become paras. 2 and 3.

**Section 40 para. 3 (new)**

3 A vote can only be cast for persons who have been validly nominated for election in the registration procedure.

**2. Cantonal Council Election Act (KRWG) of 17 December 2014**

**Section 4 para. 3**

3 Nominees must be indicated in the election proposal with their full name, date of birth, professional title, and residential address including postal code. In addition, nominees must simultaneously disclose their conflicts of interest pursuant to the Transparency Act of 6 February 2019.

**3. Rules of Procedure for the Cantonal Council of the Canton of Schwyz of 28 April 1977**

**Section 2b Disclosure of Conflicts of Interest**

Members of the Cantonal Council and persons campaigning for the Cantonal Council disclose their conflicts of interest pursuant to the Transparency Act of 6 February 2019.

**Section 79 Disclosure of Conflicts of Interest**

Persons to whom the Transparency Act of 6 February 2019 applies disclose their conflicts of interest according to its provisions.

**4. Judiciary Act of 18 November 2009**

**Section 34 para. 5**

5 Newly vacant judicial positions must be publicly advertised in addition to the announcement of the election. The advertisement must refer to the duty to disclose conflicts of interest pursuant to the Transparency Act of 6 July 2019.

Referendum, Publication, Entry into Force

1 This Act is subject to a referendum in accordance with §§ 34 or 35 of the Cantonal Constitution.

2 It shall be published in the Official Gazette and, after its entry into force, included in the Collection of Laws.

3 The Government Council is entrusted with the execution. It shall determine the date of entry into force.

1 GS 25-45 with amendments of 17 November 2021 (GS 26-57) and of 21 May 2025 (Introductory Act to the Federal Acts on Old-Age and Survivors' Insurance and on Disability Insurance, GS 27-67h).

2 Adopted in the popular vote of 19 May 2019 with 24,713 Yes votes against 20,687 No votes (Abl 2019 1204).

3 Para. 3 in the version of 17 November 2021.

4 § 7 para. 1 lit. c in the version of 21 May 2025.

5 SR 171.10.

6 SRSZ 140.410.

7 SRSZ 120.100.

8 SRSZ 140.700.

9 SRSZ 140.700.

10 SRSZ 120.200.

11 SRSZ 140.700.

12 SRSZ 142.110.

13 SRSZ 140.700.

14 SRSZ 140.700.

15 SRSZ 231.110.

16 SRSZ 140.700.

17 1 July 2022 (Abl 2022 1366); amendments of 17 November 2021 entered into force on 1 July 2022 (Abl 2022 1366) and of 21 May 2025 entered into force on 1 January 2026 (Abl 2025 2274).