2021 Norwegian Sámi parliamentary election
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All 39 seats in the Sámi Parliament 20 seats needed for a majority | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Turnout | 68.78% | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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This lists parties that won seats. See the complete results below.
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The 2021 Norwegian Sámi parliamentary election was held on 13 September 2021. All 39 seats in the Norwegian Sámi legislature, the Sámediggi, were up for election.
Background
Previous election
In the previous election, held on 11 September 2017, the Norwegian Sámi Association, with former President of the Sámi Parliament Aili Keskitalo as their presidential candidate, won a plurality, with 18 of the 39 seats, including 2 on a joint list with the Sami People's Party.[1] On 9 October, the Norwegian Sámi Association formed a coalition on the Governing Council with the Centre Party, Ávjovári Moving Sámi List and Åarjel-Saemiej Gielh, together controlling 22 seats in the Sámi Parliament.[2] Keskitalo took office as president on 12 October after being elected by the Parliament.[3] The Labour Party, which had governed from 2016, returned to the opposition. Other opposition parties included Nordkalottfolket, Progress Party, Guovdageainnu Residents List, Conservative Party, Sami People's Party, and Árja.
Presidential candidates
In June 2020, Aili Keskitalo announced that she would not be running for re-election as president.[4] The Norwegian Sámi Association nominated Silje Karine Muotka, the incumbent Councillor of Environment, Industry, and Developmental Issues on the Governing Council, as their candidate. The Labour Party nominated Ronny Wilhelmsen, their presidential candidate in 2017. The Nordkalottfolket nominated their leader, Toril Bakken Kåven.[5]
Electoral system
The election used party-list proportional representation in 7 multi-member constituencies. Each constituency is given a minimum of 2 seats. The apportionment of the remaining 25 seats is based on the number of voters on the Sámi electoral roll on 30 June on the year of the last local elections in 2019, and allocated using the Sainte-Laguë method.[6] Unlike elections to Storting, there are no levelling seats.
| Constituency | Seats[7] | |
|---|---|---|
| 2017 | 2021 | |
| Østre | 5 | 5 |
| Ávjovári | 8 | 7 
|
| Nordre | 6 | 6 |
| Gáisi | 5 | 6 
|
| Vesthavet | 5 | 5 |
| Sørsamisk | 4 | 4 |
| Sør-Norge | 6 | 6 |
| Norway | 39 | |
Voters aged 18 or over, and registered on the Sámi electoral roll prior to 30 June 2021, were entitled to vote in the Sámi Parliament election. To register, a voter must declare that they identify as Sámi, and that they either have Sámi as their mother tongue, have a Sámi parent, grandparent or great-grandparent, or are the child of a person already on the electoral roll. Sámi people from Sweden, Finland or Russia must be registered in Norway for the past three years in order to register.[6]
Advance voting was available from 10 August to 10 September (1 July for voters abroad or in Svalbard or Jan Mayen), and required for voters in municipalities with fewer than 30 people on the Sámi electoral roll. In total, 8,340 votes, 40.6% of the total, were advance votes.[8]
Debates
| 2021 Norwegian Sámi election debates | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date | Time | Organizers | P Present I Invitee N Non-invitee | |||||||
| NSR | Ap | NKF | Sp | Frp | H | Refs | ||||
| 20 June | 11:04 | NRK | P Silje Karine Muotka |
P Ronny Wilhelmsen |
N |
N |
N |
N |
[9] | |
| 28 June | 20:00 | NRK | P Beaska Niillas |
N |
P Aina Madelén Nordsletta Aslaksen |
N |
N |
N |
[10] | |
| 18 aug | 19:49 | NRK | P Silje Karine Muotka |
P Sigurd Kvammen Rafaelsen |
N |
P Siv Mossleth |
N |
P Marianne Haukland |
[11] | |
| 19 aug | 22:05 | NRK | P Silje Karine Muotka |
P Ronny Wilhelmsen |
I |
I |
I |
I |
[12] | |
| 10 Sep | 12:10 | NRK | P Silje Karine Muotka |
P Ronny Wilhelmsen |
P Toril Bakken |
N |
N |
N |
[13] | |
Results
 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Votes | % | Seats | +/– | |
| Norwegian Sámi Association | 4,414 | 31.91 | 17 | –1 | |
| Nordkalottfolket | 2,529 | 18.28 | 9 | +6 | |
| Labour Party | 2,081 | 15.04 | 7 | –2 | |
| Centre Party | 1,326 | 9.59 | 3 | +1 | |
| Sámi People's Party | 772 | 5.58 | 1 | 0 | |
| Árja | 738 | 5.33 | 0 | –1 | |
| Progress Party | 660 | 4.77 | 1 | 0 | |
| Conservative Party | 596 | 4.31 | 0 | –1 | |
| Ávjovári Moving Sámi List | 329 | 2.38 | 1 | 0 | |
| People's Federation of the Saami | 200 | 1.45 | 0 | 0 | |
| Ávjovári Residents List | 189 | 1.37 | 0 | New | |
| Total | 13,834 | 100.00 | 39 | 0 | |
| Valid votes | 13,834 | 97.91 | |||
| Invalid/blank votes | 296 | 2.09 | |||
| Total votes | 14,130 | 100.00 | |||
| Registered voters/turnout | 20,543 | 68.78 | |||
| Source: valgresultat.no | |||||
By constituency
Vote share
| Constituency | NSR | NKF | Ap | Sp | SfP | FrP | JSL |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Østre | 25.9 | 13.9 | 22.6 | 12.5 | 4.2 | 4.0 | – |
| Ávjovári | 25.0 | 17.5 | 9.9 | 11.6 | 6.6 | 1.8 | 11.5 |
| Nordre | 20.7 | 36.5 | 14.8 | 7.4 | 3.5 | 9.7 | – |
| Gáisi | 37.6 | 17.1 | 13.5 | 9.5 | 3.4 | 6.5 | – |
| Vesthavet | 41.6 | 12.5 | 13.6 | 11.4 | 4.7 | 3.5 | – |
| Sørsamisk | 53.7 | 9.5 | 20.7 | 8.1 | – | 3.1 | – |
| Sør-Norge | 35.3 | 14.7 | 15.2 | 6.6 | 11.5 | 4.8 | – |
Number of seats
| Constituency | NSR | NKF | Ap | Sp | SfP | FrP | JSL |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Østre | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | – | – | – |
| Ávjovári | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | – | – | 1 |
| Nordre | 1 | 3 | 1 | – | – | 1 | – |
| Gáisi | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | – | – | – |
| Vesthavet | 3 | 1 | 1 | – | – | – | – |
| Sørsamisk | 3 | – | 1 | – | – | – | – |
| Sør-Norge | 3 | 1 | 1 | – | 1 | – | – |
Aftermath
The Norwegian Sámi Association presidential candidate Silje Karine Muotka declared victory on the night of the election.[14] Muotka stated that renewal of the Muohtačalbmi coalition with the Centre Party and Ávjovári Moving Sámi List was her preference for government formation.[15]
On 12 October, the Norwegian Sámi Association, Centre Party and Ávjovári Moving Sámi List announced that they had reached an agreement to continue cooperating within the Sámi Parliament.[16] On 18 October, the cooperation agreement, named the Beaiveálgu Declaration after the first Sámi-language novel, was presented. Silje Karine Muotka named her Governing Council, consisting of the Norwegian Sámi Association, with one Centre Party member.[17] Muotka was elected President of the Sámi Parliament on 21 October.
See also
References
- ^ Berg-Nordlie, Mikkel (30 August 2021). "Sametingsvalget 2017" [The Sami Parliamentary elections 2017]. Store Norsk Leksikon (in Norwegian). Archived from the original on 20 November 2021. Retrieved 15 September 2021.
- ^ "Ailis nye råd – ett rådsmedlem på oppsigelse" [Aili's new council - one council member on dismissal]. NRK Sápmi (in Norwegian). NRK. 9 October 2017. Archived from the original on 1 October 2021. Retrieved 15 September 2021.
- ^ "Aili Keskitalo valgt som president" [Aili Keskitalo elected President]. NRK Sápmi (in Norwegian). NRK. 12 October 2017. Archived from the original on 15 September 2021. Retrieved 15 September 2021.
- ^ "Sametingspresident Aili Keskitalo (NSR) tar ikke gjenvalg: – Takknemlig for tilliten jeg har hatt" [Sami Parliament President Aili Keskitalo (NSR) does not seek re-election: - Thankful for the trust I have had]. NRK Sápmi (in Norwegian). NRK. 25 June 2020. Archived from the original on 2 October 2021. Retrieved 15 September 2021.
- ^ "Flertall vil ha Muotka som sametingspresident" [Majority wants Muotka as Sami parliamentary president]. NRK Sápmi (in Norwegian). NRK. 30 August 2021. Archived from the original on 1 October 2021. Retrieved 15 September 2021.
- ^ a b "Slik stemmer du ved sametingsvalget" [This is how you vote in the Sami parliamentary election]. Sámi Parliament of Norway (in Norwegian). Archived from the original on 2 October 2021. Retrieved 15 September 2021.
- ^ "Mandatfordelingen 2017 og 2021" (PDF). Sámi Parliament of Norway (in Norwegian). Archived (PDF) from the original on 2 October 2021. Retrieved 15 September 2021.
- ^ "Stemmer kan bli forkastet – selv om én stemme kan skille mellom to representanter" [Votes can be rejected - even if one vote can distinguish between two representatives]. NRK Sápmi (in Norwegian). NRK. 14 September 2021. Archived from the original on 15 September 2021. Retrieved 15 September 2021.
- ^ "Sametingsvalget 2021 - Møt presidentkandidatene". 20 June 2021.
- ^ "Sametingsvalget 2021 - Debatt". 28 June 2021.
- ^ "Stortingspolitikere om Sametinget". 18 August 2021.
- ^ "Sámediggeválggaid presidentaduella". 19 August 2021.
- ^ "Presidentkandidatenes debatt 2021". 10 September 2021.
- ^ "Silje Karine Muotka is new President of Sámi Parliament". The Independent Barents Observer. 14 September 2021. Archived from the original on 28 September 2021. Retrieved 28 September 2021.
- ^ "Muotka i tårer: – Vi skal ta dette ansvaret på alvor" [Muotka in tears: - We will take this responsibility seriously]. NRK Sápmi (in Norwegian). NRK. 14 September 2021. Archived from the original on 28 September 2021. Retrieved 28 September 2021.
- ^ "Enige etter tre uker: Silje Karine Muotka blir sametingspresident" [Agree after three weeks: Silje Karine Muotka becomes president of the Sami Parliament]. NRK Sápmi (in Norwegian). NRK. 14 October 2021. Archived from the original on 20 October 2021. Retrieved 14 October 2021.
- ^ "Her er det nye sametingsrådet" [Here is the new Sami Parliamentary Council]. NRK Sápmi (in Norwegian). NRK. 18 October 2021. Archived from the original on 18 October 2021. Retrieved 18 October 2021.
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