1958 Liechtenstein general election

In the 1957 elections the Progressive Citizens' Party (FBP) retained its majority of eight seats, while the Patriotic Union (VU) won seven.^[2] The coalition government under the leadership of Alexander Frick remained.^[3][4]

Following the election, the VU filed an electoral, alleging that citizens who had given up their residency in the country were allowed to vote in the Unterland electoral district. The FBP rejected this demand in the Landtag,^[5] but at the request of Franz Joseph II, Prince of Liechtenstein both parties agreed to amended the constitution to make it so that the Liechtenstein state court would decide on electoral complaints instead of the Landtag. The amendment also made it so that scheduled elections must be held in February or March. As per the agreement, fresh elections were called.^[5][6]

The 15 members of the Landtag were elected by open list proportional representation from two constituencies, Oberland with 9 seats and Unterland with 6 seats.^[7] Voters vote for a party list and then may strike through candidates for whom they do not wish to cast a preferential vote, and may add names of candidates from other lists.^[8] The electoral threshold to win a seat is 18%.^[7] Landtag members sit for a four-year term. Once formed, the Landtag elects the prime minister and two government councillors who govern in a cabinet. The elections was the first to use a majority clause, where the party with the most votes would automatically win the most seats.^[9] Only men aged 21 and above were eligible to vote.^[10][11]

Both the FBP and VU campaigned on their respective party newspapers, the Liechtensteiner Volksblatt and Liechtensteiner Vaterland.^[12][13] The FBP accused the VU of obstructing the Landtag, while also asserting that the FBP had fulfilled its campaign promise in regards to building private homes since the 1957 elections.^[12][14] The party's programme included such as building private housing, taxation reform, expanding health insurance, increasing pensions, and expanding education.^[15]

Conversely, the VU criticized the FBP for rejecting the former's electoral complaint, alleging that it was against the law.^[16] During campaigning, the VU advocated for financial assistance to families. In addition, the party advocated for improvements in education to adapt to Liechtenstein's changing economy, such as by granting scholarships and expanding vocational education.^[17] The VU's programme also included things such as reform of the state administration, improvements to healthcare, increased social housing, expansion of tourism, and taxation reform aimed at smaller incomes.^[13]

Political parties must have the support of 30 voters from a constituency to be eligible to nominate a candidate list in it.^[18] A total of 30 candidates were presented for the election.^[19]

The FBP won nine seats, an increase of one, and retained its majority in the Landtag, whereas the VU won six, a decrease of one.^[20] Voter turnout was 96.44%.^[21]

More information Party, Votes ...

Party		Votes	%	Seats	+/–
	Progressive Citizens' Party	1,839	54.47	9	+1
	Patriotic Union	1,537	45.53	6	–1
Total		3,376	100.00	15	0
Valid votes		3,376	98.77
Invalid/blank votes		42	1.23
Total votes		3,418	100.00
Registered voters/turnout		3,544	96.44
Source: Vogt[20]

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By electoral district

More information Electoral district, Seats ...

Electoral district	Seats	Electorate	Party		Elected members	Substitutes	Votes	%	Seats	+/–
Oberland	9	2,381		Progressive Citizens' Party	Josef Hoop Martin Risch Meinrad Ospelt Fidel Brunhart Stefan Wachter	Hans Gassner Franz Josef Schurte Josef Büchel	1,171	52.1	5	1
				Patriotic Union	Johann Beck Alois Vogt Roman Gassner Andreas Vogt	Walter Oehri Hans Hilti Gustav Ospelt	1,076	47.9	4	1
Unterland	6	1,163		Progressive Citizens' Party	Alfons Büchel Leo Gerner Ernst Büchel Georg Oehri	Engelbert Kranz Josef Oehri	668	59.2	4	0
				Patriotic Union	Alois Oehri Paul Oehri	Johann Georg Hasler Franz Nägele	461	40.8	2	0
Source: Vogt[20]

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Following the elections, the coalition government between the FBP and VU under the leadership of Frick remained.^[3][4] The FBP in the Volksblatt declared that the party increasing its majority to nine seats was due to voters supporting the FBP's policies while also rejecting the VU's campaign.^[22] On the other hand, the VU in the Vaterland alleged that the poor electoral result was due to unfair political manoeuvres and the suppression of VU candidates in the Unterland. The VU also declared that the result did not proportionally represent the voting power between the two parties, but also acknowledged that voters may have become frustrated with their policies.^[23]