Chamber:
	Folketinget
Dates of elections / renewal (from/to):
	20 November 2001
Purpose of elections:
	Elections were held for all the seats in Parliament following the premature dissolution of this body. General elections had previously been held in March 1998.
Background and outcome of elections:
	At the end of October 2001, Prime Minister Poul Nyrup Rasmussen bowed to mounting political pressure, announcing that general elections would take place in less than three weeks, at the same time as local and municipal elections, on 20 November 2001. This announcement was welcomed by his political opponents. Denmark's four million voters had to chose from 984 candidates representing 10 parties. This was the first time that the parliamentary elections were held together with those for county and municipal officials, a move which created some confusion at polling stations as the ballot papers had to be placed in separate boxes. Opinion polls before the elections indicated that the nine years of Social Democrat rule would be replaced by a more conservative coalition, as they showed that voters favoured the anti-immigration stands of the Liberal Party and the Danish People's Party. Immigration and the right to family unification for foreign residents dominated the election campaign, overshadowing the Prime Minister's attempts to fight the election on welfare and the current terrorism crisis. Both the Social Democrat and the Liberal parties promised to tighten the immigration law. But while the outgoing ruling party wanted to study the issue, the Right Liberal Party called for faster measures, including a waiting period of seven years before new arrivals could use the welfare system. All the parties were in agreement on the other main issues such as the need to improve education, health care, care for the elderly and the economic situation in the country, with an unemployment rate of 5 per cent. Consequently, no major policy changes were expected. The results showed that with a turnout of 87%, the Right Liberals (Venstre) won 56 of 179 seats (31.2% of the vote), the Social Democrats 52 (29.1%), the Danish People's Party 22 (12%), the Conservatives 16 (9.1%), the Socialist People's Party 12 (6.4%), the Left Liberals (Radikale Venstre) 9 (5.2%), the Unity List 4 (2.4%), and the Christian People's Party 4 (2.3%). Prime Minister Poul Nyrup Rasmussen resigned the day after the poll. On 27 November 2001, Queen Margrethe II appointed a new minority right-wing coalition government, headed by the Venstre leader Mr Anders Fogh Rasmussen.

STATISTICS

Round no 1 (20 November 2001): Elections results
Number of registered electors	4 001 989
Voters	3 484 915 (87.15 %)
Blank or invalid ballot papers	35 247
Valid votes	3 449 668

Round no 1: Distribution of votes
Political Group	Candidates	Votes	%
Liberal Party (Venstre)	124	1 077 734	31.20
Social Democratic Party	143	1 002 986	29.10
Danish People's Party	123	413 491	12.00
Conservative People's Party	129	312 310	9.10
Socialist People's Party	136	219 683	6.40
Radical Liberal Party	132	179 121	5.20
Unity List	135	82 224	2.40
Christian People's Party	105	78 475	2.30

Round no 1: Distribution of seats
Political Group	Total	Gain/Loss
Liberal Party (Venstre)	56	+14
Social Democratic Party	52	-11
Danish People's Party	22	+9
Conservative People's Party	16	n.a.
Socialist People's Party	12	-1
Radical Liberal Party	9	+2
Unity List	4	-1
Christian People's Party	4	n.a.

Comments:
	Breakdown of seats by political group: excluding the four seats reserved for Greenland and the Faeroe Islands.

Distribution of seats according to sex:
Men:	111
Women:	68
Percent of women:	37.99