Local elections were held in Liechtenstein on 28 January 1979 to elect the municipal councils and the mayors of the eleven municipalities.[1] Women were able to vote in Vaduz for first time.
The municipal councils (German: Gemeinderat) are composed of an even number of councillors plus the mayor (German: Gemeindevorsteher). The number of councillors is determined by population count: 6 councillors for population under 500; 8 councillors for population between 500 and 1,500; 10 councillors for population between 1,500 and 3,000; and 12 councillors for population over 3,000.
Councillors were elected in single multi-member districts, consisting of the municipality's territory, using an open listproportional representation system. Voting was on the basis of male suffrage in a secret ballot, except in Vaduz, where women's suffrage was previously introduced.[2]
The mayors were elected in a two-round system. If none of the candidates achieved a majority in the first round, a second round would have been held four weeks later, where the candidate with a plurality would be elected as a mayor.[3]
