1971 Danish general election

1971 Danish general election

←  1968 21 September 1971 1973  →
All 179 seats in the Folketing 90 seats needed for a majority
Turnout	87.16%
Party Leader Vote % Seats +/– Social Democrats Jens Otto Krag 37.27 70 +8 Conservatives Poul Møller 16.69 31 −6 Venstre Poul Hartling 15.64 30 −4 Social Liberals Hilmar Baunsgaard 14.34 27 0 SF Sigurd Ømann 9.11 17 +6 Elected in the Faroe Islands Social Democratic Jákup Frederik Øregaard 31.77 1 0 People's Hákun Djurhuus 20.42 1 0 Elected in Greenland Independents – 100 2 0 This lists parties that won seats. See the complete results below. Largest party within each nomination district and constituency. Distribution of constituency and levelling seats. Prime Minister before Prime Minister-elect Hilmar Baunsgaard Social Liberals Jens Otto Krag Social Democrats

General elections were held in Denmark on 21 September 1971 and in the Faroe Islands on 5 October. ^{[1] [2]} The Social Democratic Party remained the largest in the Folketing, with 70 of the 179 seats. Voter turnout was 87% in Denmark proper, 57% in the Faroe Islands and 52% in Greenland (where only one of the two constituencies was contested as the other had only a single candidate who was elected unopposed). ^[3]

Electoral system

All members were elected by party-list proportional representation in multi-member constituencies and in levelling seats filled at-large using overall party vote shares. The districts elected between 2 and 14 members each. They were the first elections using the new counties as constituencies.

Campaign

The incumbent Baunsgaard government called an early election as a referendum on the Danish ascension to the common market. The campaign was also dominated by the policies of austerity instituted by the government. ^[4]

Results

Party		Votes	%	Seats	+/–
Denmark proper
	Social Democrats	1,074,777	37.27	70	+8
	Conservative People's Party	481,335	16.69	31	–6
	Venstre	450,904	15.64	30	–4
	Danish Social Liberal Party	413,620	14.34	27	0
	Socialist People's Party	262,756	9.11	17	+6
	Christian People's Party	57,072	1.98	0	New
	Justice Party of Denmark	50,231	1.74	0	0
	Left Socialists	45,979	1.59	0	–4
	Communist Party of Denmark	39,564	1.37	0	0
	Schleswig Party	6,743	0.23	0	0
	Independents	919	0.03	0	0
Total		2,883,900	100.00	175	0
Valid votes		2,883,900	99.30
Invalid/blank votes		20,196	0.70
Total votes		2,904,096	100.00
Registered voters/turnout		3,332,004	87.16
Faroe Islands
	Social Democratic Party	4,170	31.77	1	0
	Union Party	2,855	21.75	0	0
	People's Party	2,680	20.42	1	0
	Self-Government	648	4.94	0	New
	Progress Party	362	2.76	0	0
	Independents	2,410	18.36	0	New
Total		13,125	100.00	2	0
Valid votes		13,125	99.42
Invalid/blank votes		77	0.58
Total votes		13,202	100.00
Registered voters/turnout		23,260	56.76
Greenland
	Independents	7,148	100.00	2	0
Total		7,148	100.00	2	0
Valid votes		7,148	97.34
Invalid/blank votes		195	2.66
Total votes		7,343	100.00
Registered voters/turnout		14,104	52.06
Source: Nohlen & Stöver, Danmarks Statistik

Aftermath

The election result was one of the closest in Danish history, with the right and left mainland blocks separated by only one seat. Ultimately former prime minister Jens Otto Krag was returned to power through an agreement with the two independents elected from the Greenland constituencies. ^[5]

References

1. Dieter Nohlen & Philip Stöver (2010) Elections in Europe: A data handbook, p524 ISBN   978-3-8329-5609-7
2. Denmark Inter-Parliamentary Union
3. Nohlen & Stöver, pp543-544
4. "Folketinget (January 1971) | Election results | Denmark". IPU Parline: global data on national parliaments. Retrieved 2025-09-25.
5. Kurrild-Klitgaard, Peter (December 2011). "Election inversions, coalitions and proportional representation: Examples from Danish elections". MPRA Paper.