Election Districts
The 25 members of the Landtag (i.e., of Parliament) are elected in two election districts, 15 in the Upper Country election district, 10 in the Lower Country election district.
Proportional Representation
The election procedure is general, secret, equal and direct. All citizens of 18 years of age or older who live in the country are entitled to vote. MPs are elected according to the system of proportional representation: Seats are first allocated to political parties in proportion to the total number of votes attained by each party (or by their candidates) in an election district. Within each party, those candidates are then considered elected who gained the highest number of votes.
Restrictive Clause
Only those political parties are assigned seats that have gained at least 8% of the votes cast in the entire country.
Term of Office (Mandate)
The term of office is four years. According to the Constitution, regular Landtag elections always take place in February or March of the fourth year.
Substitute Members
The election of Substitute Members of Parliament is a feature particular to Liechtenstein: For every three seats a political party obtains in an election district, the party is entitled to one Substitute Member of Parliament. Each party represented in the Landtag is entitled to at least one Substitute Member, however, so that small parties are not excluded from the rule pertaining to Substitute Members. The function of the Substitute Members is primarily to ensure the majority balance in Parliament if a Member is unable to attend a meeting of Parliament. Substitute Members may be elected to the Parliamentary committees and they can be elected to a Parliamentary delegation to international organizations. However, Substitute Members can not be elected as its president or head. This rule was introduced mainly because of the workload of the Members of the Landtag.