| Parliament name (generic / translated) |
Folketinget / Parliament |
| Structure of parliament |
Unicameral |
| BACKGROUND |
| Dates of election / renewal (from/to) |
18 June 2015 |
| Purpose of elections |
The Blue bloc, a four-party centre-right alliance, led by former Prime Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen, won 90 of the 175 seats at stake in these earlier-than-scheduled elections. Eighty-five seats were won by the Red bloc, a five-party centre-left alliance (see note 1) led by Prime Minister Helle Thorning-Schmidt (see note 2). Although her Social Democratic Party remained the largest party with 47 seats, the Prime Minister conceded defeat and resigned as party leader after ten years in charge. The Danish People's Party led by Kristian Thulesen Dahl, became the second largest party, winning 37 seats compared to 22 in 2011.
On 28 June, Mr. Rasmussen formed a minority government, comprising only the members of his Liberal Party (Venstre). As Venstre won 34 out of 179 seats, it has formed the second smallest administration ever, after the one formed in 1973 by Poul Hartling (Venstre), which had 22 seats.
The elections were called four months early. Ms. Thorning-Schmidt said that the timing for an election was right and pointed to positive growth forecasts for the Danish economy. The major electoral issues included immigration, welfare spending, job creation and economic growth. In the run-up to polling day, the country's cradle-to-grave welfare system took centre-stage, with major parties debating the scope of unemployment benefits.
Note 1:
- The Blue bloc comprised the Liberal Party (Venstre), the Danish People's Party, the Liberal Alliance and the Conservative People's Party.
- The Red bloc comprised the Social Democratic Party, the Social Liberal Party (RV), the Socialist People's Party, the Unity List-Red-Green Alliance and the Alternative (A).
Note 2:
Ms. Thorning-Schmidt's minority government, formed in October 2011, initially comprised her Social Democratic Party, the Social Liberal Party and the Socialist People's Party. The Socialist People's Party left the government in January 2014.
|
Date of previous elections: 15 September 2011
Date of dissolution of the outgoing legislature: 18 June 2015*
*The outgoing legislature was dissolved at 20:00 on 18 June 2015 in accordance with section 32 (4) of the Constitution which stipulates No seats shall be vacated until a new election has been held.
Timing of election: Early elections
Expected date of next elections: June 2019
Number of seats at stake: 179 (full renewal)
Number of candidates: 799 (549 men, 250 women)
Percentage of women candidates: 31.3%
Number of parties contesting the election: 10
Number of parties winning seats: 9
Alternation of power: Yes
Number of parties in government: 1
Names of parties in government: Liberal Party (Venstre)
Date of the first session of the new parliament: 2 July 2015 *
*In accordance with Section 35 (1) of the Constitution, the newly elected Folketing shall assemble at twelve oclock noon on the twelfth weekday after the day of election, unless the King has previously summoned a meeting of its members.
Name of the new Speaker: Ms. Pia Kjaersgaard (Danish People's Party) |
| STATISTICS |
| Voter turnout |
| Round no 1 | 18 June 2015 |
Number of registered electors
Voters
Blank or invalid ballot papers
Valid votes |
4'145'105
3'560'060 (85.89%)
|
|
Notes
|
|
| Distribution of votes |
|
Round no 1
|
| Political Group |
Candidates |
Votes |
|
|
% |
|
|
| Social Democratic Party |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Danish People's Party |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Liberal Party (Venstre) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Unity List-Red-Green Alliance |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Liberal Alliance |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Alternative |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Social Liberal Party (RV) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Socialist People's Party |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Conservative People's Party |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Distribution of seats |
|
Round no 1
|
| Political Group |
Total
|
Constituency seats |
Compensatory seats |
|
|
| Social Democratic Party |
47
|
43 |
4 |
|
|
| Danish People's Party |
37
|
33 |
4 |
|
|
| Liberal Party (Venstre) |
34
|
33 |
1 |
|
|
| Unity List-Red-Green Alliance |
14
|
10 |
4 |
|
|
| Liberal Alliance |
13
|
9 |
4 |
|
|
| Alternative |
9
|
3 |
6 |
|
|
| Social Liberal Party (RV) |
8
|
2 |
6 |
|
|
| Socialist People's Party |
7
|
2 |
5 |
|
|
| Conservative People's Party |
6
|
0 |
6 |
|
|
|
| Distribution of seats according to sex |
Men
Women
Percent of women |
112
67
37.43%
|
| Distribution of seats according to age |
|
|
|
| Distribution of seats according to profession |
|
|
| Comments |
Sources:
Parliament (30.06.2015)
http://www.dst.dk/valg/Valg1487635/other/startside.htm
Note
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:
Republicans (Tjóðveldi): 1 seat
Social Democratic Party (Javnaðarflokkurin): 1 seat
Note on the number of women:
In all 67 women (including two from Greenland) were elected. |
Compare data for parliamentary chambers in the Last elections module
