2005 Norwegian parliamentary election

Last updated

2005 Norwegian parliamentary election
Flag of Norway.svg
  2001 11 and 12 September 2005 2009  

All 169 seats in the Storting
85 seats needed for a majority
 First partySecond partyThird party
  Jens Stoltenberg, Norges stasminister, under Nordisk-Baltiskt statsministermote i Reykjavik 2005.jpg Carl i Hagen043 2E jpg DF0000062790.jpg Erna Solberg 2009 Party Conference.jpg
Leader Jens Stoltenberg Carl I. Hagen Erna Solberg
Party Labour Progress Conservative
Last election24.29%, 43 seats14.64%, 26 seats21.21%, 38 seats
Seats won613823
Seat changeIncrease2.svg18Increase2.svg12Decrease2.svg15
Popular vote862,757582,284372,008
Percentage32.69%22.06%14.10%
SwingIncrease2.svg8.40pp Increase2.svg7.42pp Decrease2.svg7.11pp

 Fourth partyFifth partySixth party
  Kristin Halvorsen Sentralbanksjefens arstale 2018 (191746).jpg Dagfinn Hoybraten, blivande president for Nordiska radet 2007.jpg Aslaug Haga.png
Leader Kristin Halvorsen Dagfinn Høybråten Åslaug Haga
Party Socialist Left Christian Democratic Centre
Last election12.55%, 23 seats12.41%, 22 seats5.56%, 10 seats
Seats won151111
Seat changeDecrease2.svg8Decrease2.svg11Increase2.svg1
Popular vote232,971178,885171,063
Percentage8.83%6.78%6.48%
SwingDecrease2.svg3.72pp Decrease2.svg5.63pp Increase2.svg0.92pp

 Seventh party
  Lars Sponheim 1.jpg
Leader Lars Sponheim
Party Liberal
Last election3.91%, 2 seats
Seats won10
Seat changeIncrease2.svg8
Popular vote156,113
Percentage5.92%
SwingIncrease2.svg2.01pp

2005 Norweigan Parliamentary election maps.svg
Results by county

Prime Minister before election

Kjell Magne Bondevik
Christian Democratic

Prime Minister after election

Jens Stoltenberg
Labour

Parliamentary elections were held in Norway on 11 and 12 September 2005. [1] The result was a victory for the opposition centre-left Red-Green Coalition, which received 48.0% of the votes and won 87 out of 169 seats, dominated by the Labour Party's 61 seats. The three-party centre-right government coalition won 44 seats and the right wing Progress Party won 38, becoming the largest opposition party. Voter turnout was 77.1%, an increase of 2 percentage points compared to the 2001 elections.

Contents

Contesting parties

NameIdeologyPositionLeader2001 result
Votes (%)Seats
Ap Labour Party
Arbeiderpartiet
Social democracy Centre-left Jens Stoltenberg 24.2%
43 / 165
H Conservative Party
Høyre
Liberal conservatism Centre-right Erna Solberg 21.2%
38 / 165
FrP Progress Party
Fremskrittspartiet
Conservative liberalism Right-wing Carl I. Hagen 14.6%
26 / 165
SV Socialist Left Party
Sosialistisk Venstreparti
Democratic socialism Left-wing Kristin Halvorsen 12.5%
23 / 165
KrF Christian Democratic Party
Kristelig Folkeparti
Christian democracy Centre to centre-right Dagfinn Høybråten 12.4%
22 / 165
Sp Centre Party
Senterpartiet
Agrarianism Centre Åslaug Haga 5.5%
10 / 165
V Liberal Party
Venstre
Social liberalism Centre Lars Sponheim 3.9%
2 / 165
Kp Coastal Party
Kystpartiet
Northern-regionalism Centre to centre-right Roy Waage 1.7%
1 / 165

Campaign

Before the election, Prime Minister Kjell Magne Bondevik led a coalition government consisting of the Conservative Party (38 seats in parliament), Christian People's Party (22 seats and supplied the prime minister) and the Liberals (2 seats), with the conditional support of the right-wing Progress Party. Between them, the three main parties of the coalition held 62 seats in the outgoing 165-seat Storting. The Progress Party held an additional 26, giving the four parties a majority when acting together.

Divisions within the coalition led to the temporary withdrawal of support by the Progress Party in November 2004, in response to what they saw as the government's underfunding of hospitals; an agreement was later reached. The government also attracted criticism for its handling of the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake, in which several Norwegians died, with the prime minister admitting to mistakes in his government's delayed reaction to the disaster.

The question of private schools was controversial in 2005, with the opposition Labour Party, Socialist Left Party and Centre Party rejecting the government's plan to allow schools other than those offering an "alternative education", or those founded on religious beliefs, to become private.

Amidst a decline in the personal popularity of the prime minister, opinion polls in early 2005 indicated a clear lead for the Labour Party. Its leader, Jens Stoltenberg, was prime minister from March 2000 to October 2001, and enjoyed widespread public support in the run-up to the election. Polling suggests that the Labour, Socialist Left and Centre parties could form a red–green coalition, which would command a majority in the Storting. Labour and Socialist Left have pledged to maintain their allegiance with the Centre party even if the latter were not necessary to obtain a majority.

In June the leader of the Progress Party, Carl I. Hagen, said his party would not support a new coalition if Bondevik re-emerges as the prime minister after the election, implicitly pointing at Erna Solberg, leader of the conservative party as a better candidate.

A week before the elections, the Socialist Left Party experienced a fall in popularity on recent polls. The Liberals and Conservative Party gained popularity on the polls. As of 11 September 2005, the day before the election, the opinion polls indicated a dead run between the red-green coalition and the right wing.

Advance voting was possible from 10 August to 9 September. 452,488 votes were cast in advance, a decrease of approx 52,000 since the 2001 election.

Slogans

PartyOriginal sloganEnglish translation
Labour Party "Nytt flertall - ny solidaritet"«New majority - new solidarity»
Progress Party
Christian Democratic Party "Bruk hjertet. Og hodet. Og stemmen"«Use the heart. And the head. And your voice»
Conservative Party Fortsatt fremgang«Still progress»
Centre Party Med hjerte for hele landet«With heart for the whole country»
Socialist Left Party Ulike mennesker, like muligheter«Different people, same opportunities»
Liberal Party Frihet og fellesskap, løsninger i sentrum«Freedom and unity, solutions at the centre»
Red Electoral Alliance Din sikring mot høyrevind«Your security against right-wind»
Sources: [2] [3]

Debates

2005 Norwegian general election debates
DateOrganisers P  Present   I  Invitee  N  Non-invitee 
Ap Sp H Sv KrF Frp V Rv Kp Refs
9 September NRK P
Jens Stoltenberg
P
Åslaug Haga
P
Erna Solberg
P
Kristin Halvorsen
P
Kjell Magne Bondevik, Dagfinn Høybråten
P
Carl I. Hagen
P
Lars Sponheim
P
Torstein Dahle
P
Roy Waage
[4]
10 September TV 2 P
Jens Stoltenberg
P
Åslaug Haga
P
Erna Solberg
P
Kristin Halvorsen
P
Dagfinn Høybråten
P
Carl I. Hagen
P
Lars Sponheim
P
Torstein Dahle
P
Roy Waage
[5]

Results

2005 Norwegian Storting.svg
PartyVotes%Seats+/–
Labour Party 862,45632.6961+18
Progress Party 581,89622.0638+12
Conservative Party 371,94814.1023–15
Socialist Left Party 232,9718.8315–8
Christian Democratic Party 178,8856.7811–11
Centre Party 171,0636.4811+1
Liberal Party 156,1135.9210+8
Red Electoral Alliance 32,3551.2300
Coastal Party 21,9480.830–1
Pensioners' Party 13,5560.5100
Christian Unity Party 3,9110.1500
Environment Party The Greens 3,6520.1400
Democrats 2,7050.100New
Abortion Opponents' List 1,9340.070New
Communist Party 1,0700.0400
Reform Party 7270.030New
Sámi People's Party 6590.020New
Liberal People's Party 2130.0100
Norwegian Republican Alliance920.000New
Beer Unity Party650.000New
Society Party 440.000New
Total2,638,263100.00169+4
Valid votes2,638,26399.58
Invalid/blank votes11,2570.42
Total votes2,649,520100.00
Registered voters/turnout3,421,74177.43
Source: Nohlen & Stöver, European Elections Database

Voter demographics

CohortPercentage of cohort voting for
Ap FrP H Sv KrF Sp V Others
Total vote32.69%22.06%14.10%8.83%6.78%6.48%5.92%
Gender
Females35.5%19.5%12.1%11.8%8.1%5.2%5.6%
Males30.2%24.4%15.9%6.1%5.6%7.6%6.3%
Age
18–30 years old26.7%29.5%10.9%15.9%5.8%5.4%2.3%
30-59 years old32.9%19.8%16%9.1%5.9%6.4%7%
60 years old and older36%22.7%11.4%3.5%9.6%7.4%5.4%
Work
low income37.2%24%7%9.6%6.6%7.2%2.8%
Average income31.1%24.2%11.8%8.4%8.8%7.3%5.7%
High income30.8%17.2%24.1%8.5%4%4.5%9.7%
Education
Primary school42.2%31%4.7%3.9%4.3%6.9%1.3%
High school32.5%27.2%11.9%6.2%8.5%7.7%3.2%
University/college29.8%13.7%19.5%13.2%5.8%5%10.2%
Source: Norwegian Institute for Social Research [6]

Seat distribution

ConstituencyTotal
seats
Seats won
By partyBy coalition
Ap FrP H SV KrF Sp V BorgerligRed-green
Akershus 1654411197
Aust-Agder 421122
Buskerud 94211136
Finnmark5211123
Hedmark 84111126
Hordaland 15433121196
Møre og Romsdal 9221111154
Nord-Trøndelag 62111124
Nordland 1042111146
Oppland 7411125
Oslo 1763321298
Østfold 93311154
Rogaland 13332121185
Sogn og Fjordane 5211123
Sør-Trøndelag 1042111146
Telemark 632133
Troms7321134
Vest-Agder 61211151
Vestfold 7321134
Total169613823151111108287
Source: Statistics Norway

Winners

Election results by county 2005 Norwegian parliamentary election results by county.svg
Election results by county

Losers

Related Research Articles

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References

  1. Dieter Nohlen & Philip Stöver (2010) Elections in Europe: A data handbook, p1438 ISBN   978-3-8329-5609-7
  2. "Historiske slagord og plakater". Arbeiderpartiet (in Norwegian Bokmål). Retrieved 2024-03-19.
  3. "Harstad Tidende, onsdag 6. juli 2005". Harstad Tidende . p. 3.
  4. "To timers sluttinnspurt". 15 August 2015.
  5. "Page 119" (PDF). 15 August 2015.
  6. "Kristelig Folkeparti - Valgforskning" . Retrieved 16 February 2024.

Further reading