IPU PARLINE database: DENMARK (Folketinget), ELECTIONS IN 2011

Parliament name (generic / translated)

Folketinget / Parliament

Structure of parliament

Unicameral

Dates of election / renewal (from/to)

15 September 2011

Purpose of elections

Elections were held for all the seats in Parliament following the early dissolution of this body in August 2011. General elections had previously been held in November 2007.

On 26 August 2011, Prime Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen called early parliamentary elections for 15 September, ahead of the official end of the parliament's current four-year term in November 2011. At stake were 179 seats in parliament, 175 of which are elected in Denmark, and two each in Greenland and the Faroe Islands, autonomously administered Danish territories in the Arctic Circle and high North Atlantic.

In the previous elections held in November 2007, the Liberal Party (Venstre) of the then Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen - who had been leading the centre-right coalition since 2001 - took 46 seats. Its coalition partners - the Danish People's Party and the Conservative People's Party - took 25 and 18 seats respectively. The main opposition Social Democratic Party came in second with 45 seats and the Socialist People's Party took 23. Following the elections, Mr. Anders Fogh Rasmussen formed a new centre-right coalition government comprising his Liberal Party, the Danish People's Party and the New Alliance (five seats).

In April 2009, Anders Fogh Rasmussen was elected Secretary General of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). The then Finance Minister, Mr. Lars Lokke Rasmussen, took over both as Prime Minister and head of the Liberal Party.

As a consequence of the global economic crisis that had started in 2008, Denmark experienced its worst economic downturn since World War II. On 24 August 2011, the government presented a US$ 2 billion economic stimulus package and the draft budget for 2012. The package aimed to help Danish banks avoid bankruptcy. The proposed 2012 budget included an 85 billion kroner (US$ 16.4 billion) deficit, the equivalent of 4.6 per cent of the country's gross domestic product (GDP), in stark contrast to the 5 per-cent budget surplus in 2007. Shortly after the budget proposal, on 26 August, the Prime Minister announced elections for September, urging citizens to maintain a "secure path" for the country by voting his centre-right government back into power.

The 2011 elections were held against a backdrop of debt crises in several countries in the euro zone. Although Denmark is not part of the euro zone, the debt crisis in that area was a cause for concern.

The centre-right government was challenged once again by the centre-left coalition, comprising the Social Democratic Party, the Social Liberal Party, the Socialist People's Party and the Unity List. Social Democrat leader, Ms. Helle Thorning-Schmidt, was aspiring to become the country's first woman prime minister. In all, 804 candidates contested the elections.

Both coalitions pledged to revive the country's economy. The governing coalition reiterated the need for austerity plans and further spending cuts. Prime Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen called on voters' continuing support for the government proposals which, in his view, would lead to "permanent welfare" instead of "uncontrolled indebtedness". The coalition proposed to cut the early retirement pensions scheme in an effort to balance the country's budget by 2020.

The opposition coalition also promised to balance the budget by 2020. However, it promised more spending on education and infrastructure by raising taxes on banks and high earners and increasing the value-added tax (VAT) on cigarettes and junk food. It also proposed to increase the working hours of all workers by 12 minutes per day, arguing that an extra working hour per week would boost economic growth.

On immigration policy, Ms. Pia Kjaersgaard's Danish People's Party proposed to delocalize asylum centres from Denmark to the major countries or regions of origin of asylum-seekers, such as Pakistan, the Horn of Africa and the Middle East. Ms. Thorning-Schmidt's Social Democratic Party pledged to implement more "humane" immigration policies while continuing most of the measures taken by the incumbent government.

Reacting to the upcoming request by Palestine for full membership of the United Nations, Foreign Minister Lene Espersen of the Conservative People's Party said that Denmark should try to convince Palestinians initially not to seek recognition but rather observer status at the United Nations, as the Vatican had done. The Socialist People's Party Leader, Mr. Villy Sovndal, said that recognition of a Palestinian State was necessary and pledged to canvas support from other countries in the European Union for the recognition of Palestine as an independent State.

On 15 September, 87.71 per cent of the 4 million registered voters turned out at the polls.

Eight parties surpassed the 2 per-cent threshold to win parliamentary representation. Prime Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen's Liberal Party remained the largest party with 47 seats, winning three more seats than the Social Democratic Party. However, the four parties in the opposition coalition took a total of 89 seats, three more than the governing coalition. Prime Minister Rasmussen conceded defeat and tendered the government's resignation.

On 2 October, the Social Democratic Party, the Social Liberal Party and the Socialist People's Party formed a coalition government under the leadership of Social Democrat leader, Ms. Thorning-Schmidt. She became the first woman in Denmark to assume the premiership.

On 4 October, the newly elected parliament held its first session and elected Mr. Mogens Lykketoft of the Social Democratic Party as its new Speaker.

Voter turnout

Round no 1

15 September 2011

Number of registered electors
Voters
Blank or invalid ballot papers
Valid votes

4'080'847
3'579'121 (87.71%)
32'687
3'546'434

Notes

Distribution of votes

Round no 1
Political Group	Candidates	Votes	%
Liberal Party (Venstre)		948'291	26.74
Social Democratic Party		881'534	24.86
Danish People's Party		436'335	12.30
Social Liberal Party (RV)		336'149	9.48
Socialist People's Party		326'118	9.20
Unity List		236'982	6.68
Liberal Alliance		176'473	4.98
Conservative People's Party		174'563	4.92

Distribution of seats

Round no 1
Political Group	Total	Constituency seats	Compensatory seats
Liberal Party (Venstre)	47	41	6
Social Democratic Party	44	39	5
Danish People's Party	22	17	5
Social Liberal Party (RV)	17	12	5
Socialist People's Party	16	11	5
Unity List	12	7	5
Liberal Alliance	9	5	4
Conservative People's Party	8	3	5

Distribution of seats according to sex

Men
Women
Percent of women

109
70
39.11%

Distribution of seats according to age

Distribution of seats according to profession

Comments

Sources:
The Danish Parliament (04.10.2011, 01.01.2015)
http://www.dst.dk/valg/Valg1204271/valgopgmid/valgopgHL.htm
http://valg.im.dk/English/Parliament-elections.aspx
http://www.expatindenmark.com/infocentre/forexpats/Pages/TheDanishPoliticalSystem.aspx

Note the distribution of seats:
Four other members are elected separately from Greenland and the Faroe Islands. The statistics above exclude the election results for these four members.

Election results for Greenland:
Inuit Ataqatigiits: 1 seat
Forward (Siumut): 1 seat

Election results for the Faroe Islands:
Union Party (Sambandspartiet): 1 seat
Social Democratic Party (Javnaðarflokkurin): 1 seat

Note on the number of women:
In all 70 women (including two from Greenland) were elected.

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