DENMARK

ELECTIONS IN 2005

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Chamber:
  Folketinget
 
Dates of election / renewal (from/to):
  8 February 2005
  8 February 2005
 
Purpose of elections:
  Elections were held for all the seats in Parliament following the early dissolution of this body. General elections had previously been held in November 2001.
 
Background and outcome of elections:
  On 18 January 2005 Danish Prime Minister Fogh Rasmussen called general elections for 8 February 2005, nine months before the end of his four-year term. In this Nordic country of 5 million inhabitants, the prime minister may call an election at any time during his term of office.

During the previous parliament, the centre-right coalition government was formed by Mr. Rasmussen’s Liberal Party (Venstre) and the Conservative People’s Party. The government was also supported by the far-right Danish People’s Party, which insisted on Denmark’s withdrawal from the European Union. The opposition Social Democrats were led by former foreign minister, Mr. Mogens Lykketoft.

During the election campaign, both camps focused on welfare issues targeting families with young children. Controversial issues such as Danish troops in Iraq, immigration control and the EU Constitution were avoided.

Opinion polls predicted that the coalition, supported by a sound economy with 2.4% economic growth predicted for 2005, would get between 93 and 101 seats, thus surpassing the majority of 90 seats.

A total of 3,384,559 out of about 4 million registered electors cast their ballot, down from 3,484,915 in the 2001 election.

The Coalition and the Danish People’s Party together captured 95 seats (52 for the Liberal Party, 18 for the Conservative People’s Party, and 24 for the Danish People’s Party). Consequently, Mr. Rasmussen became Denmark’s first liberal prime minister to win a second term. Having lost five of the 52 seats previously held, the Social Democrat opposition leader said he would step down.

Although the prime minister’s party retained its position as Denmark’s largest party, it will have four fewer seats in the new parliament. Some small parties like the Christian People’s Party did not gain the required two-percent of the vote to be represented in parliament. On the other hand, the Radical Liberals almost doubled their seats from 9 to 17.
 
STATISTICS
 
Round no 1 (8 February 2005): Election results
Number of registered electors 4'003'616
Voters 3'384'559 (84.54%)
Blank or invalid ballot papers 27'344
Valid votes 3'357'215

Results of the elections (Faroe Islands)
Number of registered electors: 34,166
Voters: 24,848
Turnout: 72.73%
Blank or invalid ballot papers: N/A
Valid votes: N/A

Results of the elections (Greenland)
Number of registered electors: 39,588
Voters: 23,516
Turnout: 59.40%
Blank or invalid ballot papers: 457
Valid votes: 23,059
 
 
Round no 1: Distribution of votes
 
Political Group Candidates Votes Gain/Loss %  
Liberal Party (Venstre) 974'637 -'103'221 29.03  
Social Democratic Party 867'350 -'135'973 25.84  
Danish People's Party 444'948 30'961 13.25  
Conservative People's Party 344'886 32'116 10.27  
Radical Liberal Party 308'212 129'189 9.18  
Socialist People's Party 201'047 -18'795 5.99  
Unity List 114'123 31'438 3.40  
 
Round no 1: Distribution of seats
 
Political Group Total Gain/loss
Liberal Party (Venstre) 52 -4
Social Democratic Party 47 -5
Danish People's Party 24 2
Conservative People's Party 18 2
Radical Liberal Party 17 8
Socialist People's Party 11 -1
Unity List 6 2
 
Comments:
Breakdown of seats by political group and Distribution of seats according to age exclude Greenland and Faeroe Islands seats.

Distribution of seats according to political group (Faroe Islands)
Republican Party: 1 (Votes: 6,301; % votes: 25.4)
People's Party: 1 (Votes: 5,990; % votes: 24.1)

Distribution of seats according to political group (Greenland)
Forward (Siumut): 1 (Votes: 7,761, % votes: 33.0)
Eskimo Community (Inuit Ataqatigiit): 1 (Votes: 5,774; % votes: 24.6)

Sources:
- Ministry for the Interior and Health (http://im.dk//imagesupload/dokument/va2005b3.pdf)
- http://electionresources.org/
 
Distribution of seats according to sex:
Men: 109
Women: 66
Percent of women: 36.87
 
Distribution of seats according to age:
Below 20 years 0
21 to 30 years 17
31 to 40 years 46
41 to 50 years 36
51 to 60 years 51
61 to 70 years 25
Over 70 years 0
 
Distribution of seats according to profession:

 

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