2013 Norwegian parliamentary election

Norwegian parliamentary election, 2013

9 September 2013
All 169 seats to the Norwegian Parliament 85 seats are needed for a majority
Leader Jens Stoltenberg Siv Jensen Erna Solberg Party Labour Progress Conservative Leader since 10 November 2002 5 October 2006 2004 Last election 64 seats, 35.4% 41 seats, 22.9% 30 seats, 17.2%
Incumbent Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg Red-Green Coalition

A parliamentary election was held in Norway on 9 September 2013, with the counting of the votes currently in progress. Elections in Norway are held on a Monday in September, usually the second or third Monday, as determined by the king. In this election it will be held on the second Monday. It is up to each municipality to decide if they would hold the local elections the day before the nation-wide election.

The election will be fourth for current Prime Minister of Norway, Jens Stoltenberg. Stoltenberg was previously defeated in the 2001 parliamentary election, but won both the 2005 parliamentary election and the 2009 parliamentary election. It will be the third election for the Red-Green Coalition, which was formed in 2005. Although the opposition received more votes in the previous election, the governing Red-Green Coalition obtained more seats in parliament.

Participating parties

Parliamentary parties

• Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet), leader: Jens Stoltenberg. The Labour Party was the largest party in the 2009–2013 Storting, and the majority party in Stoltenberg's Second Cabinet. They got 35.4% of the votes and won 64 seats in the 2009 election. The party is primarily social democratic.
• Progress Party (Fremskrittspartiet), leader: Siv Jensen. The Progress Party is the largest opposition party in the current Storting, but have been the third-largest party in most public opinion polls of early 2013. The party is primarily right-libertarian, with conservative and nationalist factions.
• Conservative Party (Høyre), leader: Erna Solberg. The Conservative Party is the second-largest opposition party in the current Storting, with 17.2% of the votes in the last elections. However, the party has been the largest opposition party in most of the public opinion polls in early 2013.
• Socialist Left Party (Sosialistisk Vensterparti), leader: Audun Lysbakken. The Socialist Left Party is the second-largest government party. It is a democratic socialist party.
• Centre Party (Senterpartiet), leader: Liv Signe Navarsete. The Centre Party is the third-largest party in the current government. It is agrarian, staunchly eurosceptic and serves the interests of farmers and people in rural areas.
• Christian Democratic Party (Kristelig Folkeparti), leader: Knut Arild Hareide. The Christian Democratic Party is represented with 10 members of the current Storting.
• Liberal Party (Venstre), leader: Trine Skei Grande. The Liberal Party is a centrist, green and liberal party. They earned 3.9% of the votes in the 2009 elections, and thus they were only represented with 2 seats in parliament, due to their failure at passing the electoral threshold of 4% on a nation-wide scale.

Extra-parliamentary parties

• Red Party (Rødt), leader: Bjørnar Moxnes. The Red Party is a marxist political party of the radical left. They failed to get any parliamentary seats in the 2009 general election, with their 1.3% of the votes.
• Pensioners' Party (Pensjonistpartiet), leader: Einar Lonstad. Following the last legislative election in Norway, the Pensioners' Party became the 9th largest party, with 0.4% of the votes. The party primarily serves to promote the interests of pensioners and elderly people. They will only run in 12 counties.
• Green Party (Miljøpartiet de Grønne), leader: Hanna Marcussen, Harald A. Nissen. The Greens experienced what has been described as a breakthrough in the 2011 Norwegian local elections, and have since been considered as a serious competitor in the upcoming election.
• Christian Unity Party (Kristent Samlingsparti), leader: Morten Selven. The party is a Christian ultra-conservative party. They received 0.2% of the votes in the 2009 election. They will run in only 12 counties.
• The Christians (De Kristne), leader: Erik Selle. The party, founded in 2011 in Bømlo, participated in the local elections in Bømlo and received 6.5% of the votes and two representatives in the local council. The party is founded on Christian conservative values, and is considered to be between the Christian Democratic and the Christian Unity parties on the political spectrum. It will run in all counties.
• The Democrats (Demokratene i Norge), leader: Elisabeth Rue Strencbo. A far-right nationalist and populist party, it received 0.1% of the votes in the 2009 election. They will run in all counties.
• Liberal People's Party (Det Liberale Folkeparti), leader: Vegard Martinsen. The party is libertarian, and advocates minimal government. They received below 0.1% percent of the votes in the 2009 election, and will only run in 6 counties.
• Coastal Party (Kystpartiet), leader: Bengt Stabrun Johansen. A national conservative party, known for defending the rights of fishermen and whalers in Northern Norway. They received 0,2% of the votes in the 2009 elections, but has been as high as 10%, in the county of Nordland, in 2001, when they also secured a single seat in the parliament, held by well-known whaling activist Steinar Bastesen. The party will run in all counties.
• Pirate Party (Piratpartiet), leader: Øystein Jakobsen. Founded on the basis of the better-known international Pirate Parties in late 2012. Their main cause is transparency in government. This will be their first election. They will run in all counties.
• Communist Party (Norges Kommunistiske Parti), leader: Svend Haakon Jacobsen. The Marxist-Leninist party is one of the oldest in Norway, dating back to 1923. They received under 0.1% of the votes in the 2009 election. They will run in 7 counties.
• People's List Against Oil Drilling in Lofoten, Vesterålen and Senja (Folkeliste mot oljeboring i Lofoten, Vesterålen og Senja), first candidate: Øystein Meier Johannessen. A single issue party against oil drilling in the Lofoten, Vesterålen and Senja, an issue of great debate in Norway. It will be their first election, and they will only run in Nordland.
• People's Power (Folkemakten), leader: Siv Gørbitz. The party was founded in 2012, and advocates direct democracy. It will only run in Hordaland.
• Society Party (Samfunnspartiet), leader: Øystein Meier Johannessen. An anarchist party. It received below 0.1% of the votes in the 2009 election. It will only run in 4 counties.
• Hospital to Alta (Sykehus til Alta). A single issue party advocating the building of a new and modern hospital in Alta. It will be their first election, and they will only run in Finnmark.

Leadership changes

Liberal Party

Lars Sponheim, who had been leader of the Liberal Party since 1996, stepped down in 2010. Trine Skei Grande was elected new leader on 18 March 2010.

Christian Democratic Party

Dagfinn Høybråten, who had been leader of the Christian Democratic Party since 2004, stepped down on 30 April 2011. Knut Arild Hareide was elected leader on the same day.

Socialist Left Party

Kristin Halvorsen, who had been leader of the Socialist Left Party since 1997, stepped down in early 2012. Audun Lysbakken was elected new leader on 11 March 2012.

Red Party

Turid Thomassen, who had been leader of the Red Party since 2010, stepped down in early 2012. Bjørnar Moxnes was elected as the new leader on May 6, 2012. Vegard Groeslie Wennesland was a survivor of the incident who decided to run for parliament on a Labour ticket. He also expressed concern of the People's Party's views saying that they would try to stir up conflict over the immigration issue. He said that immigration had been good for Norway's economy and culture.

Opinion polls

In the run up to the election, various organizations are conducting opinion polls to gauge voting intentions. Below is a month by month average of all opinion polls.

Polling period	Government			Opposition				Other		Ap+Sp+SV	H+FrP+KrF+V	Lead
	Ap	Sp	SV	H	FrP	KrF	V
September 2013	29.4%	5.1%	5.0%	27.0%	16.0%	6.1%	5.5%	6.0%		39.5%	54.6%	+15.1
August 2013	29.0%	5.3%	4.3%	28.9%	15.2%	5.4%	5.3%	6.5%		38.6%	54.8%	+16.2
July 2013	28.0%	4.6%	3.9%	31.6%	16.2%	5.2%	5.2%	5.5%		36.5%	58.2%	+21.7
June 2013	28.6%	4.5%	4.3%	32.0%	16.4%	5.3%	4.2%	4.6%		37.4%	57.9%	+20.5
May 2013	28.9%	4.5%	4.7%	31.8%	16.0%	5.3%	4.7%	4.2%		38.1%	57.8%	+19.7
April 2013	27.7%	4.8%	5.0%	32.6%	16.5%	5.1%	4.5%	3.8%		37.5%	58.7%	+21.2
March 2013	28.1%	4.8%	4.4%	32.4%	16.8%	4.7%	5.2%	3.5%		37.3%	59.1%	+21.8
February 2013	28.4%	4.7%	4.9%	32.9%	15.6%	5.3%	4.5%	3.6%		38.0%	58.3%	+20.3
January 2013	28.6%	4.4%	4.1%	33.6%	15.9%	5.5%	4.4%	3.2%		37.1%	59.4%	+22.3
December 2012	28.6%	4.7%	4.3%	32.0%	16.2%	5.3%	5.2%	3.5%		37.6%	58.7%	+21.1
November 2012	29.6%	4.5%	4.4%	31.4%	17.0%	5.0%	4.9%	3.0%		38.5%	58.3%	+19.8
October 2012	27.8%	4.4%	4.1%	33.9%	17.2%	5.0%	4.5%	3.2%		36.3%	60.6%	+24.3
September 2012	29.2%	4.3%	3.9%	33.5%	16.6%	5.2%	3.9%	3.4%		37.4%	59.2%	+21.8
August 2012	30.2%	4.4%	4.0%	31.6%	17.3%	4.6%	4.7%	3.3%		38.6%	58.2%	+19.6
July 2012	29.8%	4.8%	3.9%	30.5%	18.4%	5.0%	4.4%	2.9%		38.5%	58.3%	+19.8
June 2012	29.9%	4.7%	4.3%	32.0%	16.2%	4.7%	4.8%	3.4%		38.9%	57.7%	+18.8
May 2012	30.8%	4.6%	4.2%	30.9%	16.0%	5.1%	4.7%	3.6%		39.6%	56.7%	+17.1
April 2012	30.5%	5.1%	4.5%	29.4%	17.3%	5.1%	5.2%	3.0%		40.1%	57.2%	+17.1
March 2012	32.9%	5.3%	4.5%	27.9%	16.3%	5.4%	4.6%	3.1%		42.7%	54.2%	+11.5
February 2012	34.4%	5.1%	4.8%	27.9%	14.4%	5.1%	5.3%	2.9%		44.3%	52.5%	+8.2
January 2012	34.7%	5.0%	4.1%	29.3%	13.7%	5.3%	4.9%	3.0%		43.8%	53.2%	+9.4
Previous election 14 September 2009	35.4%	6.2%	6.2%	17.2%	22.9%	5.5%	3.9%	2.5%	47.8%	49.5%	+1.7

Seat predictions

The total number of seats in the parliament will remain 169, but due to changes in the population, some counties will gain or lose seats. Hedmark, Sogn og Fjordane, Nord-Trøndelag, Nordland and Troms all lose one seat each. Akershus, Hordaland and Rogaland gain one each, whilst Oslo gains two.

Polling period	Government			Opposition					Ap+Sp+SV	H+FrP+KrF+V	Lead
	Ap	Sp	SV	H	FrP	KrF	V
September 2013	54	9	9	46	30	10	9		72	95	+23
August 2013	51	9	8	53	27	10	9		68	99	+31
July 2013	52	8	1	58	30	9	10		61	107	+46
June 2013	52	7	7	57	30	8	7		66	102	+36
May 2013	51	7	8	57	30	8	7		66	102	+36
April 2013	50	8	8	56	30	8	8		66	102	+36
March 2013	51	8	7	57	30	7	8		66	102	+36
February 2013	51	8	8	57	28	9	7		67	102	+35
January 2013	54	7	7	57	28	10	7		68	101	+33
December 2012	51	8	7	55	30	9	8		66	102	+36
November 2012	52	8	7	54	31	8	8		67	101	+34
October 2012	52	7	7	57	31	8	7		66	103	+37
September 2012	54	8	1	61	31	10	3		63	105	+42
August 2012	54	8	1	57	32	8	8		63	105	+42
July 2012	54	9	1	55	33	9	8		64	105	+41
June 2012	55	7	7	55	28	8	8		69	99	+30
May 2012	55	8	7	54	28	8	8		70	98	+28
April 2012	53	9	7	49	33	8	9		69	99	+30
March 2012	59	9	7	47	30	9	8		75	94	+19
February 2012	64	8	8	46	25	9	9		80	89	+9
January 2012	62	9	7	50	23	9	8		78	90	+12
Previous election 14 September 2009	64	11	11	30	41	10	2	86	83	+3

Election

The voting centres close at 19:00 GMT and will then be followed by the publishing of exit polls. Indicative results are expected around 22:00 GMT.