| Parliament name (generic / translated) |
Stortinget / Parliament |
| Structure of parliament |
Unicameral |
| BACKGROUND |
| Dates of election / renewal (from/to) |
14 September 2009 |
| Purpose of elections |
Elections were held for all the seats in Parliament on the normal expiry of the members' term of office. |
The September 2009 elections were the first to be held after constitutional amendments in February 2007 effectively transformed the Parliament (Stortinget) into a purely unicameral parliament as of 1 October 2009. Until now, the Stortinget, although unicameral, used to split into two bodies (the Odelsting and the Lagting) when handling legislation. These two bodies were abolished after the 2009 elections.
In the previous elections held in September 2005, the three parties in the minority government - the then Prime Minister Kjell Magne Bondevik's Christian People's Party, the Conservative Party, and the Liberal Party - lost to the opposition coalition, the Red-Green alliance. The latter comprised former Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg's Labour Party, the Socialist Left Party and the Centre Party (Agrarians). They took 61, 15 and 11 seats respectively, or 87 in all in the 169-member parliament. The King subsequently appointed Mr. Stoltenberg as the new premier. Mr. Stoltenberg's government, composed of the Red-Green alliance, became the first majority government in Norway since the mid 1980s.
The 2009 elections were held against the backdrop of the global economic crisis which had also hit Norway, the world's fifth oil exporter. Under the rules governing the country's oil fund, only 4 per cent of its 2.4 trillion kroner (US$ 400 billion) can be used to finance public expenditure in order to preserve wealth for future generations. However, Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg (Labour Party) used over 7 per cent of the oil fund in 2009, citing exceptional circumstances triggered by the global economic crisis. Gross domestic product (GDP) registered some growth in the second quarter of the year 2009.
During the campaign, Prime Minister Stoltenberg said he would continue to work with his coalition partners: Ms. Kristin Halvorsen's Socialist Left Party and Ms. Liv Signe Navarsete's Centre Party.
The opposition parties were not united coming into the 2009 elections. The Christian Democrats and the Liberals ruled out forming a coalition with the Progress Party, criticizing the latter's immigration policies. The Progress Party, led by Ms. Siv Jensen, insists that immigrants should be assimilated into Norwegian society and has proposed building Norwegian asylum centres in Africa. It argued that only 10 percent of asylum seekers are entitled to stay in Norway under the strict interpretation of the UN Refugee Convention. Over 10 percent of the country's 4.8 million inhabitants are of foreign origin.
The main issue in the 2009 elections was how much oil revenue should be used for public expenditure.
Prime Minister Stoltenberg's Labour Party, known for its pro-oil industry stance, initially argued that the Arctic and Lofoten coastlines should be opened for oil drilling in addition to the current North Sea reserves, but then withdrew its proposals due to opposition from the Socialist Left Party.
The Progress Party argued that more of the oil fund should be used for public works and taxes should be lowered. It also called for tightening of immigration rules. Ms. Jensen criticized Prime Minister Stoltenberg's government for crowded asylum centres and long waiting lists for non-emergency treatment at public hospitals.
Prime Minister Stoltenberg rebutted by saying that the Progress Party's policies were "completely wrong for Norway". He argued that his government had helped protect the country from the global economic crisis and had kept the unemployment rate as low as 3 per cent. He pledged to give priority to creating more jobs, better schools, care for the elderly and sound environmental policies.
The leader of the Conservative Party, Ms. Erna Solberg, is known for her pro-European Union (EU) policies. However, she underscored that her party would not push for the country's accession to the EU. Norwegians have rejected the referendums on accession twice: first in 1974 (to the European Communities) and again in 1994. Although Prime Minister Stoltenberg's Labour Party is also pro-EU, its coalition partners oppose the EU bid, arguing that the latter focuses too much on a liberal economy and does not do enough to strengthen democracy.
In all, 76.37 per cent of the 3.5 million registered voters turned out at the polls.
The final results gave 86 seats to Prime Minister Stoltenberg's coalition, including 64 to the Labour Party. It was the first time in 16 years that the governing coalition won the general elections. The Progressive Party remained the second largest party, winning 41 seats, followed by the Conservative Party with 30 seats. 67 women were elected.
Parliament was convened on 1 October and on 8 October elected Mr. Dag Terje Andersen of the Labour Party as its new Speaker.
On 17 October, the King reappointed Mr. Stoltenberg as Prime Minister. His third government, comprising the Labour Party, the Socialist Left Party and the Centre Party, was sworn in on 20 October. |
| STATISTICS |
| Voter turnout |
| Round no 1 | 14 September 2009 |
Number of registered electors
Voters
Blank or invalid ballot papers
Valid votes |
3'530'785
2'696'468 (76.37%)
13'732
2'682'736 |
|
Notes
|
|
| Distribution of seats |
|
Round no 1
|
| Political Group |
Total
|
Gain/Loss |
|
|
|
| Labour Party |
64
|
3 |
|
|
|
| Progress Party |
41
|
3 |
|
|
|
| Conservative Party |
30
|
7 |
|
|
|
| Socialist Left Party |
11
|
-4 |
|
|
|
| Centre Party |
11
|
0 |
|
|
|
| Christian People's Party |
10
|
-1 |
|
|
|
| Liberal Party |
2
|
-8 |
|
|
|
|
| Distribution of seats according to sex |
Men
Women
Percent of women |
102
67
39.64%
|
| Distribution of seats according to age |
21 to 30 years
31 to 40 years
41 to 50 years
51 to 60 years
61 to 70 years
|
10
37
55
52
15
|
| Distribution of seats according to profession |
|
|
| Comments |
Sources:
- Parliament (06.10.2009, 02.03.2010)
- http://www.regjeringen.no/krd/html/valg2009/bs7g.html# |
|
Compare data for parliamentary chambers in the Last elections module
