Switzerland yesterday held the final day of a legislative election which could see the conservative Swiss People's Party strengthen its place as the leading party.
The party is led by outspoken Swiss Justice Minister Christoph Blocher and his focus on immigration and crime led to a bitter campaign marked by a riot and accusations of racism against Blocher.
The last opinion poll on Oct. 10 indicated that the Swiss People's Party (SVP) was set to win 27.3 percent, 0.6 percent more than its score in the 2003 election.
The Socialists fell to 21.7 percent, against 23.3 percent in 2003, according to the poll, while the center-right Christian Democrats and the weakening pro-business Radical Party were nearly level at just over 15 percent each.
A strong turnout is expected for the election for the 200 seats in the lower house National Council and there are a record 3,000 candidates for the seats. There are 130 candidates for the 41 seats in the upper house which will be decided.
Voting has been underway in some constituencies since Friday and about one-third of the electorate voted by post, the ATS news agency reported. Polls close at 12pm and the first results are expected to come in soon after.
The four parties have dominated Swiss politics for the past 48 years but the SVP's aggressive campaigning has marked a break with the consensual traditions of Swiss politics.
The SVP caused an uproar with a poster depicting a black sheep being kicked out of the country by white sheep under the slogan "For More Security," as it campaigned for the expulsion of foreign criminals.
Video games on its Web site cast a similar tone.
Anger spilled over into a riot during an SVP rally in Bern on Oct. 6 when police clashed with demonstrators.
The angry campaign prompted Swiss Economy Minister Doris Leuthard -- a Christian Democrat -- to warn that foreign investors might be scared off.
Switzerland's leading French-language newspaper Le Temps on Saturday called on voters to choose "confidence over fear," warning that the SVP's campaign gave a false image of the country in crisis.
"All indicators of prosperity, of competitiveness, of future investments, of people's happiness ... paint a first rate picture," the paper said in an editorial.
"The problems Switzerland faces require other solutions than the law of fear," it said.
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