Chamber:
	Folketinget
Dates of elections / renewal (from/to):
	12 December 1990
Purpose of elections:
	Elections were held for all the seats in Parliament following premature dissolution of this body on 22 November 1990. Since general elections had previously been held in May 1988, they would not normally have been due until May 1992.
Background and outcome of elections:
	On 22 November 1990, Prime Minister Poul Schlüter (Conservative People’s Party) called early elections for 12 December after his minority Government failed to gain support in Parliament for its economic programme that included tax reform. The Folketing was prematurely dissolved the same day. During the lackluster three-week election campaign, the ruling parties tried to focus on abolishing the 6% tax which was part of the Government’s overall solution in the economic field. Once again, this centre-right coalition (comprising the Conservatives, the Liberal Party and the Radical Liberal Party) was mainly challenged by the Social Democratic Party, headed by Mr. Svend Auken. Before issuing elections writs, the Government had negotiated with this last group, and the two were apparently close to reaching an agreement. Altogether, 1,274 candidates from 13 parties contested the Folketing seats. Polling day results considerably improved the position of the Liberals and the Social Democrats, as the latter enhanced their standing as Parliament’s largest single party. The other two governing parties, however, incurred losses. Overall, the nonsocialist bloc retained its majority. In this context, Prime Minister Schlüter did not resign but, on 18 December, formed a new two-party Government consisting of his Conservatives and the Liberal Party.

STATISTICS

Round no 1 (12 December 1990): Elections results
Number of registered electors	3,941,499
Voters	3,265,420 (82.84%)
Blank or invalid ballot papers	25,758
Valid votes	3,239,662

Round no 1: Distribution of votes
Political Group	Candidates	Votes	%
Social Democratic Party	104	1,211,121	37.4
Conservative People’s Party	103	517,293	16.0
Liberal Party (Venstre)	98	511,643	15.8
Socialist People’s Party	103	268,759	8.3
Progress Party	101	208,484	6.4
Centre Democrats	101	165,556	5.1
Radical Liberal Party	99	114,888	3.5
Christian People’s Party	101	74,174	2.3

Round no 1: Distribution of seats
Political Group	Total	Gain/Loss
Social Democratic Party	69	+14
Conservative People’s Party	30	-5
Liberal Party (Venstre)	29	+7
Socialist People’s Party	15	-9
Progress Party	12	-4
Centre Democrats	9	=
Radical Liberal Party	7	-3
Christian People’s Party	4	=

Comments:
	Excluding Greenland and Faeroe Islands seats.

Distribution of seats according to sex:
Men:	120
Women:	59