Chamber:
	Stortinget
Dates of elections / renewal (from/to):
	10 September 2001
Purpose of elections:
	Elections were held for all the seats in Parliament on the normal expiry of the members' term of office.
Background and outcome of elections:
	Voters went to the polls on 10 September 2001 in a general election. At stake were the 165 seats in Parliament. The turnout was the lowest since 1927, with only 74.5 per cent of the eligible voters casting votes. Results showed that the Labour Party suffered its worst election in 77 years, losing 22 seats, while the Socialist Left got the best results ever, gaining fourteen new seats. In the newly elected Parliament, the Labour Party would have 43 members, the Socialist Left, 23, the Christian People's Party 22 (losing 3), and the Conservative Party 38 (gaining 15). The far-right Progress Party made a gain of 6, up from the 20 it had in the outgoing legislature (one of the 26 was later excluded from the party). Analysts alleged that one of the reasons of the Labour Party's defeat was the resistance of citizens to the high taxes imposed on them. Norwegians pay taxes for nearly 50 per cent of their income and see shortcomings in the welfare state. Indeed, the electoral campaign focused on these two subjects: taxation and the state of public services. While the outgoing government promised continuity and recalled that the UN had proclaimed Norway the country with the best standard of living in the world, the opposition parties declared that government should use the country's oil wealth to cut taxes and improve health and education (Norway is the world's second largest oil exporter). After results were made official, it was clear that no single party had secured enough votes to form a majority government and that the parties would need to build a coalition bloc, adding up to 83 seats to secure a majority in Parliament. On 17 October 2001, the Labour Prime Minister, Mr. Jens Stoltenber, tendered his government's resignation, paving the way for Mr. Kjell Magne Bondevika, the leader of the Christian People's Party to head a right-wing coalition, composed of the Conservatives, the Christian People's Party and the Liberal Left. Between the three of them they have a total of 62 seats, and the backing from the far right would yield a total of 88 seats, five more than the required majority. At the first sitting of the new Parliament, held on 10 October 2001, Mr Jørgen Kosmo (Labour), was elected Speaker.

STATISTICS

Round no 1 (10 September 2001): Elections results
Voters	2 537 692 (74.5%)
Blank or invalid ballot papers	15 813
Valid votes	2 521 879

Round no 1: Distribution of votes
Political Group	Votes	%
Labour Party	612 632	24.40
Conservative Party	534 852	21.20
Progress Party	369 236	14.70
Socialist Left Party	316 456	12.40
Christian People's Party	312 839	12.50
Centre Party	140 287	5.60
Liberal Party	98 486	3.90
Coast Party	44 010	1.75
Independents	n.a.	n.a.

Round no 1: Distribution of seats
Political Group	Total
Labour Party	43
Conservative Party	38
Progress Party	25
Socialist Left Party	23
Christian People's Party	22
Centre Party	10
Liberal Party	2
Coast Party	1
Independents	1

Distribution of seats according to sex:
Men:	105
Women:	60
Percent of women:	36.36

Distribution of seats according to age:
21 to 30 years	11
31 to 40 years	29
41 to 50 years	44
51 to 60 years	73
61 to 70 years	7
Over 70 years	1