2009 Norwegian Sámi parliamentary election

The 2009 Sámi parliamentary election was held in Norway on 14 September 2009.[1] Voters elected 39 members for the Sámi Parliament of Norway.

The election saw significant losses for the two dominant parties in the Sámi Parliament, the Norwegian Labour Party and Norwegian Sámi Association. Two third parties made a breakthrough, the new Árja and the Progress Party, with three seats each.

Negotiations

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Both the Labour Party and Norwegian Sámi Association had refused to cooperate with the Progress Party, who notably seek the dismantling of the Sámi Parliament.[2] While both Labour and NSR were reluctant to give hold to a so-called "minor party tyranny", the parties also thought it unlikely to establish a Sámi Parliament Council together, but held that it could not be ruled entirely out. Both parties sought cooperation with the Árja Party. Árja held that they could cooperate with all parties, with the likely exception of the Progress Party, citing it "could be problematic".[3] Árja mainly sought to establish a "bloc" together with the Kautokeino reindeer herders list,[4] while also negotiating with both the main parties,[5] as well as Nordkalottfolket.[6]

Result

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In the end, a majority Sámi Parliament Council was elected, supported by the Labour Party (14 seats), Árja (3), Nordkalottfolket (1), Åarjel-Saemiej Gielh (1), and an unaffiliated Sámi resident of Southern Norway (1).[7] The Sámi Parliament Council itself, consisted of Egil Olli (Labour) as President, Láilá Susanne Vars (Árja) as Vice President, and the council members Ellinor Marita Jåma (Åarjel-Saemiej Gielh), Marianne Balto (Labour) and Vibeke Larsen (Labour). The council was later complained in to the Control Committee by Labour politician Åge Nils Haugen, as the council violated its own equal rights laws, as it consisted of four women and only one man. The complaint was also supported by the Progress Party.[8]

Results

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Election results for the 2009 Sámi parliamentary election.[9][10] Voter turnout was 68.0%.[9]

 
PartyVotes%Seats+/–
Labour Party2,53426.8214–4
Norwegian Sámi Association1,98621.0211–5
Árja94910.043New
Progress Party7377.803+3
Centre Party4664.930–1
Conservative Party4394.651+1
Kautokeino Reindeer Herders List4114.352New
NSRSáB3663.872New
People's Federation of the Saami2973.1400
Sámi People's Party2212.340–1
Sámi Residents in Southern Norway1912.0210
Nordkalottfolket1841.951New
Åarjel-Saemiej Gielh1461.551New
Non-Reindeer Herders List1241.310New
Common List1101.160New
Ofelas750.790New
Socialist Left Party640.6800
Sjaddo550.5800
Christian Democratic Party480.510New
Liberal Party450.4800
Total9,448100.0039–4

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Sametingsvalg 2009 Archived 2009-12-23 at the Wayback Machine
  2. ^ "Vi har gjort et brakvalg", NRK Radio
  3. ^ "Størst i den største kretsen", NRK Radio
  4. ^ "Kampen om Laila", NRK Radio
  5. ^ Árja møtte NSR til sonderinger
  6. ^ "Árja forhandler med Ap", NRK Radio
  7. ^ Slik vil Olli styre
  8. ^ "Bryter egne retningslinjer", NRK Radio
  9. ^ a b ""Landsoversikt per liste"". Archived from the original on 2009-09-26. Retrieved 2009-12-09.
  10. ^ "Sameting Election 2009"