As Swiss citizens went to the polls to vote in the November round of national referendums, a rather peculiar local election was taking place in a small town in Canton Uri. As of November 24, the town of Wassen has two new municipal councillors, even though both of them don’t want the job.

Wassen elects two officials who don't want to be elected

On November 24, the local council in Wassen, Canton Uri announced that two new members had been elected to the municipal council, Felix Baumann-Baumann and Andreas Baumann-Zurfluh. The problem? Both candidates did not stand for election and were actually opposed to serving.

The strange situation came about after no single candidate managed to get enough votes to be elected to the two council spots in September. In their second attempt last Sunday, Baumann-Baumann received 24 of 26 votes in favour, while Baumann-Zurfluh received 13 of 26, enough to get them elected in absentia.

The Mayor of Wassen Beat Baumann-Nogueria - who raises the question of how many Baumanns can serve in one local council - informed the two reluctant winners by telephone.

New Swiss municipal councillor too busy to take the job

"I didn't want to be on the municipal council. I'm a farmer and I have to work and I don't have time for long meetings," Baumann-Zurfluh told 20 Minuten. He added that as deputy commander of the local fire brigade, treasurer of the local Alpine cooperative and board member of the Uri Farmers’ Association, he is too busy to take up the mantle. 

When asked why he was chosen as one of the preferred candidates, Baumann-Zurfluh said that he’s “not someone who sits at home and watches TV. I go to the pub and discuss things with people. There I just say what I think. Maybe that's why." Both Baumanns have 10 days to confirm whether or not they will serve on the council, but 20 Minuten noted that you need an extremely good excuse to get out of the position once elected.

How normal is forcing people to serve on Swiss councils?

While it seems incredible, the idea of forcing locals to serve as councillors against their will is set to become more common in Switzerland, especially in rural areas and the mountains. A new study from the ZHAW School of Management and Law found that half of all councils in Switzerland have problems filling their elected roles, while a quarter struggle to find workers to fill administrative positions.

In most cases, the amount of work involved in serving was the main reason putting candidates off. With Swiss mayors only earning an average of 32.400 francs a year, serving the community is also not as well rewarded as a regular job.